The Spirit Of Life
by Timelong
Summary: A team of American soldiers are sent to Africa on a secret mission. There, they discover the Pridelanders. The two groups develop a friendship that gets tested when a third party seeks the lands for its own use. Working together, they will learn to live.
1. You Don't Exist

AN: This is my take on the popular "Humans in the Pridelands" idea. Might be more rough than others, as it is about war, and not some person getting lost in the Pridelands.

Disclaimer: The Lion King is owned by Disney. More notes at the bottom.

You Don't Exist

"**Something has come up in south-eastern Somalia. But it is unconfirmed"**

"**Where in Somalia? That place is already in a bad enough shape, and the pirates don't help it."**

"**Right on the border with Kenya and Ethiopia. I don't see anything special about it, except for the fact that that's where the three nations meet."**

"**How reliable is the source Is it even worthwhile for looking into?"**

"**Shaky at best. I was thinking of sending a small team over there, bring them back if nothing pops up after a month."**

"**You know we can't just send in people in to wherever and whenever we want. We don't have enough special forces to do so. And the logistics will be unimaginable. Not to mention impossible to hide." **

"**Which is why we won't send in special forces. A five man team of regular, but good soldiers. Minimal support, not even military. My idea is that if they get caught, they are just tourists on vacation."**

"**And how are you planing to pull it off?"**

"**You will find a memo on your desk. I expect an answer, say, tomorrow? No need to wait for a long time."**

Sergeant Dave Seaver sat in a bunker in the mountainous hills of Afghanistan, killing time while remaining on alert. He casually noted his CO walking towards him. Some minor assignment, probably.

"Seaver, pack up you're being shipped elsewhere." said his officer after a short while.

"Wait, what? No patrol? Where am I being shipped off too? Asked Seaver.

"It doesn't say. It just says to grab the fastest flight to Fort Irwin in California. Guess it has something to do with that little stunt you pulled off after that ambush on this outpost." The commanding officer didn't sound that happy to lose one of his soldiers. The little outpost needed the few quality men it had.

Seaver got up. "So it's good bye then? Might email you afterwards, if I get the chance."

The officer laughed. "Always a real boy scout, aren't you, Seaver?"

Seaver went down the hill and started packing up his duffel bag. An hour later, he was manning the machine gun of a Humveeheading towards the nearest airport...

* * *

General MacBain looked at the group of five men standing in attention in front off him, fresh off the cargo plane, heating up in the hot California sun. As far as any onlooker was concerned, it was just a meeting between a few soldiers.

"I am asking you to undertake a mission that is potentially very dangerous. You will have barely any support, you will be on you own, and if you accept it, you will cease to exist for the duration of the operation. Apart from this, I can only tell you that I am to encourage you not to undertake this operation. At the same time, I need the best I can get my hands on. You might die if you accept."

General MacBain paused for effect. "If you are prepared to accept the risks, step forwards."

As one, the five assembled soldiers stepped forwards without hesitation. Macbain smiled at them. "I knew that I can count on you. This mission dictates that as of now, you don't exist. You are not American soldiers, but civilians on vacation."

"Vacation, where?" one of the soldiers, Sergeant Russel, asked.

General MacBain looked at him grimly. "East Africa. Right on the border of Somalia. You hear the news. It's not a good place to be in."

The General produced five envelopes. "Your orders, gentlemen. Study them well and destroy them. Leave no evidence. This mission is based off very shaky evidence. Hell, there might not even be anything, but be prepared for the worst."

He motioned at the crates that crews were starting to load onto the cargo plane. "You will have some gear. Mostly weapons and food, but it is still very limited. I have taken the liberty of 'burrowing' a Humvee and an UH-1, but other than that, it's on foot. Banks, I believe you are qualified to fly that helicopter."

Banks looked startled at being addressed suddenly. "Ah, yes sir, yes. I am qualified to fly that."

"Your vehicles are being disguised to look like civilian versions, but they are in fact, standard military issue. One more thing. You will be around lots of wildlife, and my superiors will be all over me if a few people start complaining about dead animals, so please try to avoid killing wildlife."

Getting some sort of signal from the loaders of the cargo plane, MacBain finally said. "This is it, gentlemen. Get aboard that plane and good luck. Remember, you don't exist."

The five soldiers boarded the cargo plane that will take them all the way to Africa.

* * *

Seaver watched the plane take off again from the pitiful strip of ground that served as a runway. They just got off the cargo plane, and he was already lost. At least Afghanistan had some roads.

"Some kind of disguising they did. Even a five year old can tell this isn't legit." Banks was examining the Humvee and UH-1. "Lets see, a yellow Humvee and a white Huey. The Humvee is barely changed, but at least the Huey doesn't look like it came from Vietnam."

Sergeant Evans examined the helicopter. "It looks like they simply ran it through an industrial painter. Look, the fuel cap is blocked by paint. And the rotors are white." He took out a knife and carved out the outline of the cap. "Much better. Good thing they protected the axles."

The last soldier, Mardindale, was already packing the gear up. "I just realized something," he said. "All of us here are sergeants, except for Banks, whose a, what was it, Technical Sergeant? That makes him effectively the leader."

Banks blushed. "Gee, I am so honored. No. If we are to be civilians, we need to act like civilians, we need to act like them. We are Americans, we use democracy, not top-down leadership. That's the military."

Mardindale laughed. "See? He even talks like a leader. By the way, what about the president? He is American, and a leader."

"That's not my point." Banks nearly shouted. "What I'm saying is that we need to not act like soldiers. Got it?"

"Yes, I got it. I was just saying..." Mardindale finished. "Hey, Seaver, what are you looking at?"

Seaver was examining the weapons. "Some of the ammo is made of tranquilizers. Same with guns."

"Well, that means that we are not completely defenseless against animals with sharp teeth," commented Banks. "But I won't have that problem, so here you go, guys." He dropped off a box of tranquilizers at Evans' feet.

Evans smiled an evil smile. "Nice try, but I have the power to ground you." He motioned at the Humvee and helicopter. "As the mechanic here, I know more about these than all of you combined. Annoy me, and it's walking time."

"Annoy me and you will not be fit to walk." Mardindale replied back. "I'm the medic and a qualified doctor, so watch out."

"Aren't we just one happy family?" Asked Seaver.

"Where did your sense of humor come from?" Mardindale eyed Seaver.

* * *

Nightfall set upon the five soldiers, inside two tents in the middle of the African savanna. Except that rest would not come easy for the soldiers.

Banks, suffering from jet lag, swore he heard a voice in the distance. He waited, straining to hear. He swore it was his imagination, but he couldn't tell.

"- if it wasn't for that lousy Mufasa, we would be ruling this joint. It's not funny, Ed. He kicked us out of the best eating all around."

Banks prodded Evans awake, and the mechanic sat up grumpily. "Why did you have to wake me up? I was-"

Banks cut him off. "Do you hear that?" he whispered to Evans.

Evans listened. "So? It's just people. Now lemme go back to sleep."

Banks again found himself prodding Evans awake again. "What are people doing in the middle of nowhere, speaking English. In Africa?"

Evans was wide awake at this. "Yeah, you're right. Let's go find out what it is. We are curious civilians, after all."

Hiding a pistol in his pant pocket, Banks followed Evans out of the tent. They found Seaver already outside, also.

"Feeling jumpy." Was Seaver's explanation.

The three men cautiously walked towards the talking voices. Seaver turned on a bright flashlight in spirit of civilian night trekking, instantly giving away their position.

As the light turned on, the voice grew in volume and number.

"Hey, Shenzi, what is that?"

"I don't know, Benzai. Let's go check it out."

The three humans walked forwards just in time to stumble onto a trio of Hyenas. One oh the animals looked up at the humans and got a nice beam of light in its eyes.

"Hey, watch it! On a second thought, let's get out of here, guys." With that, the three Hyenas turned and ran.

Seaver was dumbstruck. "Did that Hyena just speak English?"

Behind him, Mardindale and Russel came up. "That will be the least of your problems," said Russel. "Turn around. Slowly. Don't run."

The other three humans turned around, and saw a pack of lions, teeth bared and growling. Even the light didn't visibly effect them. One of the lions came forwards, and also started speaking.

"What are you doing here?" It asked the humans in a deep basso, male voice.

* * *

A/N: This is a Lion King story written as an experiment. I saw many good TLK fics that included humans, but they all dealt with civilians. One I read had a human who was in some sci-fi world with space ships and guns. This made me realize that I did not see the issue of having to deal with the darker side of humanity: warfare and pure weapons of death. I want to create a story that compares the idealized world of the Pridelands under Mufasa before and during the events of the first movie, with the world of humans, open warfare, and the military. The darker side of humanity that has the potential to bring out the best of us.

I did see one titled "Marine in the pride-lands" (something like that), and decided that my take won't be too extreme.

Chapter edited to fix a few minor mistakes. Primarily, Macbain is changed to MacBain.


	2. Cheaters Of The System

A/N: Chapter 2 of the story. I appreciate all reviews. Not so much for those who didn't review.

Chapter 2: Cheaters Of The System

"**You need something I can offer, but I need something in return. Therefore, I am willing to give you an offer that you can't refuse."**

"**You get me what I need first, and I will personally see to it that you get your end of the deal."**

"**If it lets us not have to worry about being spotted, I accept. No matter from where the deal comes from. Not even you."**

"**You get me what I need, and all is settled. And I can assure you that the... establishment cannot offer the same service."**

"**Well then, I guess I cannot decline the offer. It will help out both of us, yes?"**

"**I am most sure it will. Although I am wondering why you seek help from the likes of me. I would think that there are better services around. You know that this will have to remain a secret."**

"**Let's put it this way: I am just a businessman, trying to make a living. And then I meet you, and I just know that we will be the best of friends. Tell me, why should I decline in helping a friend out? It seems... cruel not to. Although I have to ask you to remove your body guards. They make me nervous."**

"**I don't see how they can make anyone nervous. Not the best around, but they do have their uses. You will find them most helpful. At the right price, of course."**

"**You know, as we like to say, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."**

"**The best of all of them."**

Seaver opened his eyes to scan for trouble. He didn't see anything. Not through the tent walls. At the same time, he couldn't stop himself from waking at the first sign of trouble. And in the unfamiliar land of Africa, anything could be trouble.

Next to him, Mardindale also woke up. "Seriously, Seaver. You need to stop jumping up at every noise. I can't get any sleep like this. Where did they find you?"

Seaver sighed and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. The sun was coming up, anyways. "Afghanistan," he replied. "And I had to be jumpy in order to survive. It saved my life at least two definite times."

Mardindale gave him a small shove. "This isn't Afghanistan. So relax and let me sleep next time." He left Seaver in order to pack up the tent and place it in the Humvee.

Seaver ignored him and started dressing to get out. Five minutes later, he was standing outside the tent, looking at the rising sun. He didn't remember seeing the sun rise being as beautiful as it was during that morning.

Sighing, Seaver turned around and set to prepare breakfast. Setting up a portable stove, he tried to light it, and discovered that it won't. He tried again, but the stubborn stove refused to ignite. Cursing under his breath, he took out a multi-tool and proceeded to disassemble the stove and clean the parts.

By then, the remaining three humans got themselves out of the second tent and also got busy.

Russel crouched next to Seaver and got out the breakfast food supplies. "You know, if breakfast is such a tough opponent, you can always ask for help," he told Seaver, watching in amusement Seaver's attempts to fix the stove.

"You can help by telling me how someone managed to clog the fuel line with dirt." Seaver grunted in reply. Getting what looked like the last of the dirt out, Seaver reassembled the stove and lit it again. This time it started to burn nicely. "There, all fixed." Seaver said, placing the multi-tool down next to him. "So what do you think?" he asked Russel.

"About what?"

Seaver thought about the question. "About this place here. Talking animals? When was the last time you saw a talking lion? Imagine if it didn't let us stay. What do we report back, we failed because we were run off by a talking lion? At least by staying here, we can stay quiet."

Russel waiver a mixing spoon at him. "Humans are animals. Parrots talk. At the end of the day, it can theoretically happen."

Seaver snorted. "You know yourself this can't happen. No one has yet seen a talking lion. Or hyenas."

Russel went back to cooking. "It will make more sense if we let some time pass. It's been what, five hours? Wait a while, then see what you thing about it."

Letting Russel take over in the cooking, Seaver reached out for the multi-tool to place it back in the Humvee only to realize that it was missing. He looked around him, but couldn't find it. "Hey, Russel, did you see where I put the knife?" he asked.

Russel looked up from the breakfast. "I saw you place it on that rock." Seaver was looking at the bare rock. A bright flash of sun reflecting off of metal caught his eye. Seaver looked at the source to find a lion cub running off, with the trophy multi-tool in its jaws.

"Hey, come back her!" Shouted Seaver. "Hey, that is not a safe thing to just grab. Come back here!" Seaver had to sprint as hard as he could in order to catch up to the cub. Which meant that just as he caught up to the cub, it would suddenly change direction.

The other four humans laughed themselves silly watching Seaver chase the lion cub around the camp ground. Seaver decided that it must end at that instant, and chased the cub to a corner with the helicopter.

Without an escape rout, the cub looked up at Seaver innocently. Seaver ignored the face as he crouched down to the cub's level. "May I have that back, please?" He asked the lion.

The cub dropped the multi-tool onto Seaver's waiting hand. "It was more fun when you were chasing me around." it said in a high pitched, but male, voice. "You must be the new animals that dad told me about," the cub continued. "He said that you are very strange, and that he should keep a close eye no you. He said that you can have some very unusual surprises, and that some of them are not that nice." The cub looked behind its back at the helicopter. "What a strange rock. Did you bring it here?"

Seaver laughed. "I say that you should listen to you father, who seems to have a lot of knowledge about us. And he is right about the not so nice surprises." Seaver wiped the multi-tool clean on his shirt, then turned serious. "Such as this thing you nearly ran off with." He pulled out the can opener in the multi-too. "Like this, it can be dangerous, but it is hard to make it so. So for the most part, it is safe." Seaver replaced the can opener with the main knife component. "This way, on the other hand, it is all danger. Never approach a human with one of these. They are our claws, if you will."

Seaver looked at the cub's confused face, temporarily amazed at the similarities with human facial expressions.. "You have claws. We have these tools. But the purpose is the same. Which is why you should never, ever, run of with one of these ever again."

Russel approached Seaver. "You done showing off the knife to Simba? Here, have some breakfast." Russel handed Seaver a mug filled with steaming stew. The cub ran off, taking the first chance to.

"Wait a minute, how do you know what the lion is called?" asked Seaver.

"What, you seriously didn't notice? Mardindale just finished complaining about you keeping him up at night for every small noise, and you don't notice anything suddenly. Simba's dad is here. He got to see you give that nice lecture."

Seaver turned red. "You know knifes are not to be played with. I was just being cautious."

Russel shrugged. "I thought you were being funny for a second there. Guess saints don't come with humor. Anyways, Mufasa want to talk to you." He also added in a whisper. "The big lion."

* * *

Seaver ignored Russel as he went over to Mufasa. The lion was waiting patiently at the edge of the camp. The lion motioned for him to follow.

"Getting up very early in the morning is not many creatures do." Said Mufasa. "I was wondering if you might be up to something. I was showing Simba around the kingdom, so I had a good reason to stop by here and ask you exactly what are you doing here."

Seaver remained silent for a moment. "Wasn't able to get much sleep." he finally said. "Not used to it."

Mufasa continued to walk. "You don't seem to be very comfortable. And you didn't answer why you are here."

Seaver watched as Simba ran off to the camo ti mess around with Mardindale. "I'm not comfortable because you are a lion, and royalty. Lions are not supposed to talk. Neither are hyenas. I don't know what is going on here. Nor do I know how o address royalty. I can use the 'your highness' stuff, but it feels, well, weird. "

Mufasa chuckled. "I am not used to 'your highness'. It's too formal for me. You can just call me Mufasa. Still, I would like to know why are you here."

Despite the apparent politeness of Mufasa, Seaver detected an authoritative tone that told him that stalling is not an option. Seaver gulped. "What I am about to tell you, you must never tell to anyone else. Not even your family. The more others know the likelier the chance that bad things will happen. Can I trust you with the information? Otherwise I will not tell you."

The two kept on walking in silence. Finally the lion spoke up. "You trust me to keep your secret from everyone else. Even my own family. Very well. But this better be something good."

Seaver nodded. "We are a group of friends on vacation. Relaxing in the African country side and enjoying the natural scenery. It is a rally nice place, you know."

Mufasa laughed. "I am delighted that you consider the Pridelands a good place."

Seaver looked on. "That is just a disguise, however. We are actually a group of soldiers on a top secret mission to find and confirm the moving of weapons in this area. We didn't know you lived here. We were told that there might be other humans who are giving away weapons used to kill other humans. We need to stop that. This is why you can't tell anyone else. If those humans find out that we are not just regular people, they will move away, and the weapons will still be used for murder."

The two walked along, while Mufasa pondered the information. The lion again spoke after a few minutes of silence. "I never met humans before. Nor has my father, nor his father. But we have been told stories of humans. They said that humans are creatures of murder. They kill simply for the pleasure of killing. One told of an entire pride killed off by humans. When I saw you today, I hoped that those stories were wrong."

Seaver shook his head. "The stories are true. There are humans who murder for the sole purpose of murder. The humans we are searching for are such people. I am warning you because humans are too good at killing. We are weak creatures: nearly all animals over power us or run faster. We have no claws, no sharp teeth. So we had to cheat the system in order to survive. We chose to cheat. We created things whose sole purpose was killing. Those weapons only got better over time, that is, they kill more, quicker, and with less effort."

Mufasa growled at this. "Why are you telling me all of this?"

Seaver backed a little from the growling. "I am telling you this so that you know. Humans are like all other creatures. There are great humans, some are evil humans. Most are in between. But everything with us to the extreme. Don't get close unless you have too. I am telling you this because we are going to meddle with humans who don't want to be stopped, and they are dealing with evil. They will fight back. We will most likely also have to retaliate."

"Are you telling me that my pride might be in danger because of where we live? Because humans came here with murderous intent?"

"Yes. I am telling you exactly that. You might be in danger. Same with your pride."

Mufasa's face softened. "Thank you then." He said.

Seaver was startled. "For what?"

Mufasa smiled. "For being honest with me. I was hoping for less."

Seaver also smiled. "All in a day's work."

The two continued to make small talk as they proceeded back towards the camp, until Simba came running up from the grass. "Hey dad, dad! You need to finish showing me around the kingdom!" The cub proceeded away from the camp.

Mufasa turned to follow Simba. "I haven't seen anything unusual yet. You might have indeed just come on a false alarm. But if I get word on anything, I'll let you know."

Seaver waved at him. "Thanks. We'll also let you know if we see anything." he headed back towards the camp.

* * *

Mardindale was waiting for him at camp. "Whatever you two were talking about back there, it worked miracles, because is that a smile I see?"

Seaver's smile dropped a little. "Your humor's not very funny." He looked around. "Where did the Humvee go? And where are the others?"

Mardindale motioned outwards. "They went to look around the border. Simba told us we are right on the edge, because we can just barely see the pointed rocks over there. It's a few miles radius, so they decided to make a loop around."

Seaver frowned. "That's quite stupid of them."

Mardindale shrugged. "What do you want from civilians? We need to make stupid things like these in order not to appear like a military unit. Casual clothing only gets you so far, but when you have five guys, all with buzz cuts, and serious gear, you need to dumb down a little."

That still didn't make any sense to Seaver. "The way I see it, is that there is no one here. And Mufasa said there isn't anyone but us, or we are being watched right now, so we should not act like civilians because it will make reacting to attack that much harder. What if we get attacked right now? The closest radio is off by the stove. What I'm telling you is that we should not drop military procedure. I don't want to risk it."

Mardindale shrugged. "Fine by me, we can choose when the others come back. Banks asked us to load all of the gear in the chopper. They packed everything before they set up."

The two men started to load the bags of gear into the helicopter. A section in the back was reserved for gear. Mardindale decided to joke at Seaver's humor some more.

"Hey, Seaver," he said with a grin. "Big Brother is watching you."

Except that Big Brother was watching them.

00000000000000000000

A/N: A nice long chapter. Yey :D. This story might have a slow beginning, though, so stick with me. Not much going on here except for introductions. Letting the humans get to get used (sort of) to the lions. As for the real world, I appreciate all reviews, and love them. Thanks for everyone who reviewed my previous chapter.


	3. Something Magical

AN: Sorry for taking a long time to update. This chapter doesn't have any plot in it, but I believe that it is vital. It was not originally in my plans, which is why it took a long time to create. It went through no less then four complete re-writes.

I NEED REVIEWS, especially because I believe this will be one of the greater chapters in the story, I need to know what you think of it. This is a long chapter, but I believe that it can't be shorter. For me, it needs the length, to let a feeling of time to go by.

Chapter Three: Something Magical

"**I understand the entire plan is in order."**

"**Not my first idea. I still think that it will not work. But I am willing to go along with it."**

"**Not much risk for you, is there?"**

"**I am sending some of my better soldiers. No. It is because we can always fall back to our other plan."**

"**It's riskier. Let's just move with the first plan. Once it's done, there will be no reason for the second."**

"**This is war. Of course there's a risk. This first plan. It's safe. But the second one is bold. Only you can come up with something as bold as that second plan."**

"**It will be hard to cover it up. Besides, why are you so against the first plan?"**

"**I have a personal reason for wanting for the first plan to fail. It's not for you to fail. But it's for our opposition to get to see that a victory such as that will be very... costly."**

"**I would still prefer to just get it over with."**

"**Not getting soft, are you, my friend? This line of work is dangerous. It pays to like the unlikable."**

"**I don't think we need to shed more blood than is necessary."**

"**You speak noble words for one as yourself. Still. We have endured much, you and I. Soon, we will be pulling the strings of the world."**

"**And we will be crowned its kings."**

"**Or better than kings. Gods."**

The sound of crickets filled the night air as Seaver and Russel patrolled the Pridelands. More than a month had passed since the soldiers first came to Africa, and by the mission standards, they were supposed to leave. But when Simba came running one day announcing that he found something, it all changed. The 'something' was a stack of rifles hidden under some boulders. Not enough to send in the special forces, but enough to extend the mission. Indefinitely.

Russel was talking about it to Seaver as they walked underneath the stars. "The only interesting thing that happened after the rifles was the resupply. But we called for it, so it was expected, and all we did was collect the containers. Didn't even see the plane. No one saw or heard it."

Seaver shrugged in the darkness. "You saw the rifles Simba found. They were clean. But with the resupply, we have a real amount of fuel, and real equipment. Rifles, uniforms, you name it."

Russel laughed. "Yeah, we now have radios we can actually hear out of. And I like the uniforms They're comfortable. There was some benefit with dropping the disguise. If we ever see someone, they will probably shoot us. Although how do we explain it to Macbain? Our intelligence is a pride of lions? I can see that one really well-"

Seaver suddenly hushed Russel. "Do you hear that?" he asked, pulling out a pistol.

Russel listened in the darkness. All he heard were more crickets. And then some voices. Russel strained his ears to try and make out the voices. He finally understood them. "It's the cubs. Nothing to worry about. Come on now, put that away." He watched Seaver place back the pistol.

"What are they doing out here alone in the middle of the night? Let's go and see if there is a problem."

Russel didn't object much as the two soldiers walked towards the voices. Soon they came upon Simba and Nala, discussing something.

"-no Nala, it won't work that way. We need something more." Simba then noticed a light shine near him, and looked at the source, up at Seaver. "Oh, hey Seav."

Seaver grinned. "Not getting into trouble, now, are we?"

Simba and Nala looked at the ground gloomily. "No. Dad wants us to prepare a choir in four days. It's for a big even. We can't find anyone to sing, and it won't work with just the two of us. I thought that we might find something tonight, but there isn't anything." Simba then seemed to get an idea. "maybe you can help us!" He said excitedly.

"Us?" asked Seaver, surprised. "What can we do do help?"

Simba was smiling. "Yeah, there are five of you. Together, we can create something amazing."

Seaver sighed. "I'm sorry, but I, for one, really can't. I don't even know how to sing."

Simba wasn't worried. "We'll teach you."

"In four days? I don't know. Besides, we need to patrol."

Russel nudged Seaver. "Afraid of doing something new? Give it a try. You might surprise yourself. There's nothing here, anyways."

Seaver looked at Russel, then at the two cubs. They gave him a large, hopeful grin in return. Sighing again, Seaver relented. "Alright, let's try this." he said. The two soldiers had to walk quickly in order to keep up with the two excited cubs back to their camp.

* * *

The other three humans were not excited to be woken up in the middle of the night. But their anger subsided when they found out the reason.

Almost right away, Simba and Nala were busy getting the humans to attempt to start singing. Yet try as hard as they can, they got barely anywhere that night. Yet neither Simba nor Nala seemed to mind. Their positive can-do attitude kept the humans from quiting. In order to keep a secret, the practices were held away from the watchful eyes of the adult lions.

The next morning, tired and frustrated, the humans had to stop and get some rest. Even Russel began to have some doubts. "If you can sing so well, why do you need us?" he asked Simba.

"Because if we do this well, it will be much better than we can pull off alone." was the reply. For the rest of the day, the practices continued, apart from breaks. The humans had to take shifts in order to sleep, but the cubs were able to continue on their own, sometimes also taking short naps.

On the second day, Simba left and came back with a blue bird. "I have to bring Zazu along in order to make dad happy," he explained. "I got him to promise not to reveal anything."

Zazu stayed with them, observing their practice, sometimes adding a remark. "If you put so much effort into other things, young master," he said once, "my job would b a lot easier than it is." He then flew off to 'report' on the cubs' whereabouts.

On the third morning, the humans progressed enough for Simba and Nala to tell them that they "Did too much to stop now." They even got Zazu to join them.

Then Banks came up with another idea. "I looked up the words for the songs were are going to sing," he explained, "and you won't believe what I found. I got some versions without words in them, and well, you should listen..."

Maxing out the small speakers on the laptop he brought, he played a few tunes he found. The humans and lion cubs listened. When the tunes ended, no one spoke for a while. Then Zazu spoke up. "With a few minor adjustments to what you have been doing, the words will fit well to the music. Although I must ask, how does that thing work?"

With the laptop providing a fresh surge of energy to the effort, the practice continued until the the very end of the day, until everyone were happy with the results.

Banks gave a short prep talk at the end. "Alright guys, listen up. We have exhausted ourselves these past three days, and I think it was worth it. Get good rest tonight, don't panic. We can practice for a few hours tomorrow, but not up to the point of the celebration, that will be bad. The most important thing is get rest and don't panic. Don't even think about it. Simba, Nala, I know you are excited, but don't run off and tell anyone. If all goes well, the pride will get one surprise they will not forget. We are American soldiers. Even if we are working with members not of our species, we will succeed. I can feel it."

Simba and Nala left soon afterwards, giving the humans some time for themselves. Banks added a few things that the lions wouldn't understand with his pep talk. "I've downloaded the music to the hard-drive, and transfered it to my mp-three player. I've been thinking of how to get the music to play louder than the speakers can handle, and came up with a solution. We have good quality radios now. If we tape the music player to a hand-held radio, it can play straight into it, and we can sing into it too. This gives us an improvised microphone that transmits radio signals. We use other radios to amplify the signal at strategic locations."

The other humans agreed to it. "I have no idea where you came up with that," commented Mardindale, "but that's just brilliant. If we are to look presentable, we need to look the same. We will need to wear our combat uniforms. No helmets or weapons. Just boots, pants, and shirts."

Banks nodded. "We can figure that out tomorrow. Alright guys, hit the sac."

* * *

The evening of the celebration has arrived. Mufasa stood on a rock that served as a podium. "Tonight, as the stars a aligned correctly, we celebrate the memory of the great kings of the past, and the circle of life..." Mufasa gave a speech about the history of the Pridelands, and the culture of the lions. "...I am glad that Rafiki has been able to come tonight, for this celebration is one of our greatest, and one of our oldest traditions. And Scar is always welcome to come down from his perch at anytime he wants. On the same note, I welcome a few new guests. Simba and Nala invited over our human visitors, and they also say that they are going to surprise us all..."

The celebration involved other lions telling stories, poems, and other pieces about the kings of the past, the circle of life, and the Great Spirit. It took the humans a while before they got used to being surrounded by large carnivores. Eventually, they manged to relax somewhat.

The lions spoke from their hearts and minds, true believers in their faith. They were creatures untroubled by worries of a large world. Messages of peace did not have to be preached directly, they came out on their own. Even the monkey, Rafiki, spoke tales of kings past, and how they helped lead to the Pridelands' current, prestigious state.

Russel commented to Seaver quietly during a short break, "If environmentalists spoke like this, global warming would be a thing of the past." Seaver had to agree. There was a certain... magic to the event. The kind that is very hard to create and come by, one that makes one forget about all the worries of the world.

Despite the pride being a monarchy, everyone were treated as equals. Mufasa and Sarabi mingled with everyone else like they were best friends for life. Being true, it was not possible in the human world. A vast number of people simply prevented the kind of personal connection achieved that night. Even the humans were able to forget, at least for periods of time, that they were listening to talking lions.

Secretly, the humans prepared the equipment for their performance. Banks taped his music player onto the radio, speakers right next to the input microphone, and taped the transmit button down. He then hid the radio away from noise as the other humans placed other radios around the clearing, output volumes preset that afternoon. They made sure that the technical aspect of their performance will be flawless. Eventually, it came down to enjoying the celebration, and waiting for their event.

About an hour later, the night was full, and Mufasa stood again on the rock. By then, the humans rigged a few lights around for added visibility. Emphasized by light, Mufasa spoke again. "The time that we have all been waiting for has come. Simba and Nala will now give their performance. Zazu told me personally that they are very well prepared for today. I have not seen the practices myself, but I trust Zazu. I am certainly excited to see it, as I am sure you are too. That being said, I now give you them, Simba and Nala."

The two cubs replace Mufasa on the rock. At the same time, the humans positioned themselves around the front of the rock, their heads at the same level as the cub's. Simba cleared his voice. "These past few days, Nala and I have worked hard to bring tonight's performance. But it wasn't not be just me Nala and me, but Zazu and the humans too. Tonight, we are all going to sing songs that are unbelievable. Start it Seav!"

Seaver started the music player, and the player started playing into the radio.

The assembled lions gasped out loud as music didn't just originate from the assembled group, but from all around them. A gentle piano theme started playing*, then the performers started the song:

"From the day, we arrive on the planet..."

* * *

Silent from amazement, the pride watched as the cubs and humans sang together, letting the music fit the songs, always as a whole, never with one individual dominate the entire song. Simba and Nala were better, and so they had the larger parts, but in the end, it was undeniable: everyone, even Zazu, were required to make the songs perfect.

Time seemed to stop as words filled the air. The song took on their own life that moment.

"On the path unwinding, In the circle, Circle of life..."

"The world for once, In perfect harmony, With all its living things..."

"Free to run around all day, (Well, that's definitely out), Free to do it all my way!"

And in the end, the two first two songs were sung again, but altered a little.

"How it's laid to rest... It's enough to make kings and vagabonds, Believe the very best, It's enough to make kings and vagabonds, Believe the very best."

And finally for the last time, " On the path unwinding, In the circle, Circle of life."

* * *

Done with their singing, the end of the celebration was near. Simba got to talk to Seaver. "I would like to go to where you live one day," he said. "These devices are very cool."

Seaver laughed. "I can show you some of it, but it won't be a very good idea for you to visit. It's to far, and it will be very complicated."

Simba looked at the ground, ears flat. "You mean you don't want me to come?" He asked.

"No, I want you to come. Other humans will not want you to, tough. But hey, you live in a great place, and we pulled off perfection tonight."

Simba smiled, all happy again. "I know. Did you see mom and dad's faces? They never saw it coming! Told you we can teach you in four days." The cub ran off to join his parents as Seaver walked back to the other humans.

"Beats night patrols all the time, in my opinion," Mardindale was saying.

Banks had to correct him. "I think you meant to say that its all of our opinions. Tonight, it's something special, something sobering, no, not sobering, something..." he struggled to find the words.

"Magical." finished Seaver. The others nodded in agreement.

Mufasa then walked over to the humans. "I must thank you all for coming tonight and especially for you performance. It was just utterly magnificent."

Russel shrugged. "It was your son's idea. He had to convince us to join him."

"Is that why I barely saw him these past days? I never expected something like this coming from Simba or Nala. They were well above my expectations. And the music, how did you do that?"

Mardindale showed him a radio. "Humans just have to create some things, you know? You never know what your going to end up with. That and three endless days of practice. Nearly went insane then."

Mufasa laughed. "My son has a fierce determination for some things. Usually its for getting in trouble. But I see that even I can be wrong with my opinions."

Seaver, suddenly enlightened, turned serious. "Hey, Mufasa? Do you think it was just coincidence we came here, or something greater?"

"Who nows? It's up to you to decide. You will find your place."

"In the circle of life."

* * *

*Circle of life, Elton John version. (see below [2])

AN: 1. Finally done with this chapter. I am very happy with it, and so I would really like to get reviews. I really need to know what you thought of it. It is an improvised chapter, in that it was not in my original plans. It's just that the original plans suddenly seemed rushed, and I came up with this.

2. I gave a line break for the songs because even though a period of time has not passed, the even is too important to just be in the story. It needs emphasis. Sort of like the songs in the movies are songs and not dialog. With the movie, the songs brought it up to a whole new level, which is why I had them placed in here. With the songs, I have it that through coincidence, the lions have come up with very similar songs to those already existing, and that the songs were created without the movie. The soldiers used karaoke version in the celebrations.

celebration came up to me as a great excuse for having Simba and Nala (and in turn, the humans) have to prepare a magnificent performance, and a lesson in life. It doesn't feel like something that the Pridelanders will not have, either.

4. Mufasa's comment about scar is my opinion of why Scar is always on cliff edges, but no one seems to mind, even if he is sometimes in plain sight.


	4. Not Quite Something Cool

AN: Sorry for the long wait guys. 1. I was distracted. 2. I got distracted. 3. I went on vacation, so I got distracted some more. And I am working on 3 stories at the same time. (Don't ask how I manage, but the short answer is I don't).

So here is chapter (looks on-line) 4? I got the idea that it was around chapter 6 or so. Oh well. Here is chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Not Quite Something Cool

"**Did you ever wonder how big the world truly is? Whether it can be formed into one kingdom, ruled by one?"**

"**I never cared about it before. I knew my destiny from the start, and I will meet it when the time is right."**

"**That's your choice. But sometimes I wonder, when they sing of freedom and liberty, is it really worth it? I've come to the conclusion that it isn't. The pain and suffering of the downtrodden is not worth the freedom of the few. It's a sacrifice for the better to remove the current powers and replace them with something greater."**

"**Then why did you choose this path? I am sure there are better ways of changing the world."**

"**Because sometimes, the world is simply incapable of paying attention."**

"**So you came here and found me. Together we wait, build up our strength."**

"**Precisely. If one man is not enough in the beginning, it doesn't mean the end is out of reach. Soon, the end will be within our grasp. This will mean that I will have to leave you here."**

"**Where will you go? You told me everything you need is hidden throughout these lands. That's why you need my kingdom."**

"**The tools of power are required where the power lies. Where I will go, that is something different. I need the world to listen. I know how. Unfortunately, that is not here."**

Seaver spat out some dirt and grass as he got up after being very violently tripped to the ground. Nearby, Mardindale and Russell were trying to stay standing from laughing to hard. The last of the dirt left Seaver's mouth as he spat it out. "Mardy! when we get back to camp, I swear that I will..."

Exactly what he was going to do, no one found out as something significantly heavy pressed down on Seaver's back. It felt heavy, but soft. It was Simba, grinning loudly and puffing his chest out.

"Did you see that, Nala?" The cub asked his friend, who was frowning nearby. "I pounced him so hard, that wham! He never even saw it coming!" Now Simba was also laughing really hard. "Wait until we get back! It will be so funny, I managed to knock down Seaver! Why, they might not even believe it."

While Simba was having his glory moment on Seaver's back, the human sighed with his face hidden in his palms. Eventually, he decided that the cub had enough and made his move.

"So, Nala," Simba was busy asking, "do you doubt me now? I told you I can topple one of them over. or do I need to- WOAH!" Simba had to quickly jump off Seaver's back as the human swiftly got up.

Seaver grinned as he dusted himself off. "Now I don't think that was very fair. For one, I was looking out over the horizon, and two, I believe I let you topple me over. And I got up easily enough."

Simba snorted. "I caught you by surprise fair and open. You weren't paying attention, and that's your problem. Besides," Simba added smugly. "Mom says that the prey that pays the least attention gets eaten the first."

Seaver wasn't the only human not to be amused by that. He might have gotten knocked down, but non of the others noticed the two cubs sneaking up on them either.

"So we're prey now, is that so?" Asked Russell. "I didn't know we tasted that good."

Mardindale laughed quietly. "If it will make you feel better, I say we can add a little... energy to our camp. Nothing serious. Maybe a shock or two," he said, referring to the electrical perimeter fencing that they didn't bother putting up yet.

"You want see something really cool?" Asked Simba suddenly, moving away from the awkward situation.

"I don't know if we can," replied Seaver. "We still have patrolling to do, and that's on the serious side of things. Not something to be left undone."

Banks suddenly answered the question through the radio. "Seaver," he said. "If you can get knocked over by a lion cub, you need a break. Go see that cool place, and I better find out what it is when you come back. Don't worry about the patrol. From up here, I can see much better than you can, and I have some serious stuff on me. I can keep an eye out."

Mardindale fisted the air triumphantly as Seaver turned very red with embarrassment. "Sometimes, a radio is a piece of heaven." he said.

Seaver had to stop himself from strangling the joker. "And sometimes, the radio needs to be left off."

The two lion cubs were looking up at the device Mardindale was holding with curiosity. Even though they saw it before, it still amazed them. "Why turn it off? Asked" Simba. "If I got to talk to anyone I want, whenever I want, I wouldn't do anything but talk."

Nala rolled her eyes. "Good riddance," she said. "The kings know that the only time you shut up is when no one's around."

As the humans snickered at her remark, Simba turned quickly and pounced on her in order to prove her wrong. In no time, she was standing on top of him grinning triumphantly. "You can never pin me, might as well quit trying.." She said.

Realizing that he was on the losing end of the jokes now, Simba quickly pushed Nala off and ran of into the grass. "So you guys gonna come or what? It's going to get dark soon!" he called out over his shoulder.

Seaver looked at the sky. He notice that the entire day had a substantial wind, but he only noticed now that dark clouds were moving in. With a shrug, he followed the others. If the weather gets to bad, they can always return to the cool thing to see what it is later.

* * *

Several hours later, Banks tried looking out from the rain splattered windshield. While looking out on top of a large hill, the weather got steadily worse. Soon he had to go back to camp, and along with Evans, secured everything before seeking shelter in the Humvee. What was supposed to be another uneventful day turned into one of the most powerful storm in his life. Now the windshield offered a nice view of water, not air.

"How long do you think the rain will last?" he asked Evans, who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat.

Evans shrugged. "The nearest weather station is hundreds of miles away, and I don't trust its quality. Either way, it claims that right now its sunny and hot. Nor am I a meteorologist, so I can guess to make you happy, but that's about it."

Banks laughed. "Yeah, stupid question." he took out a book and started reading, while Evans was content to pass the time by napping with a music player in his ears. How anyone could get some sleep in that torrent beat Banks. The rain continued to pound on the roof of the vehicle, creating the loud noise that Banks tried hard to ignore. He wondered about the other three humans. They were patrolling the Pridelands when the rain started, then they followed Simba and Nala to that cool place.

As if to answer his thoughts, the radio crackled to life through the noise of the rain. It was Mardindale.

Struggling to hear Mardindale, Banks pressed the speaker into his ear while covering the other. It didn't help that there was heavy static.

"-get the car- to- -ide- -roc- -" The signal went dead almost immediately.

Evans woke up. "Anything?" he asked.

Banks turned on the ignition and the vehicle coughed to life. "I couldn't tell. Rain's killing the signal. Either way, we're off." The headlights illuminated the area right in front of them, but not much else. The windshield wipers worked overtime to clear the water that furiously tried to cover up the windshield.

"How can you see anything in this storm?" Asked Evans.

Banks was leaning as far forward as he could to get a better view. "I can't. I'm mostly relying on memory and the compass." That quited Evans.

The vehicle lumbered up slowly through the plains. The rain turned the hard clay soil into a bog, threatening to entrap even the rugged off-roader. More than once Banks had to move quicker than he anted to to avoid settling into the mud permanently. Without a clear sight, the drive went on forever. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

After several long hours, Banks caught the looming bulk of Pride Rock thorough the rain and mud. He drove carefully, and discovered that they came upon the back end of the monolithic stone. Driving around the perimeter, Banks finally drove the Humvee under the protective cover of the large protruding section of rock. He cut the engine when he saw the other three humans there.

Mardindale got up when the vehicle pulled over. "What took you so long getting here?" he asked Banks and Evans when the two got out of the Humvee. "We nearly started to dry without you."

Banks pointed at the mud splattered windshield. "You try seeing anything through that. Especially when you can only see just up to the end of the hood." He took out a duffel bag from the inside of the vehicle. "Here," he said. "Your uniforms, I know, but they're dry."

Before Banks or Evans could blink, the other three humans changed their clothing, suddenly much more alive now that they were dry and carried a few pounds of water less.

"So, what was the cool place?," Banks asked. "I didn't understand anything in the radio message, just to come here and that's it. So we came here."

Russel looked out at the raging storm. The wind was threatening to eliminate even the cover of the rock above them from the rain. "We didn't get to it. It was on the far end of the Pridelands, and it started raining too hard before we got there. We called you because we really needed a fresh change of clothing which you brought."

Banks looked outside at the rain. "I guess we can only wait until the storm passes. Then maybe we can look at that cool place. Along that note, I am wondering what's on the other side of the hills roughly twenty miles east of us. Might go looking in a few days if nothing comes up."

Banks watched the rain for a while, thinking. He wondered for how long they could stay. They came on a secret mission. It was turning into almost a vacation. Even Macbain was starting to hint through their email contacts that they might be pulled out soon. There was only so long that DC and the African governments had patience for. He though about whether or not to move to a new location. Maybe they set up their "base" in the wrong spot. Should they go see the cool place? "What do you guys think?" he asked finally.

But when he turned around, Banks realized that he was talking to nobody. Mardindale had already managed to fall asleep, using a backpack as a pillow. Russel was also close to falling asleep, but he was listening to a music player. Evens was doing something on a notepad, and Seaver was reading something. In short, no one was listening to him.

Walking over to Seaver, Banks looked at Evans' notebook. Evans was drawing a rather nice looking picture of a lion, looking up. Evans paid Banks no attention as he continued drawing. Banks came up to Seaver.

"What are you reading?" he asked.

Seaver looked up suddenly, and rather embarrassed. "Nothing," he said quickly. It was a Bible.

"You religious?" Asked Banks.

Seaver shook his head. "Don't ask why. I just suddenly felt like I had to read it, and I knew we had one, so there you go." He said in almost a whisper.

Banks laughed quietly. "Tell me if you read anything enlightening." He then looked at his watch. "And try to get some sleep. It's a lot later than it looks."

Banks got inside the Humvee in order to get some sleep himself after alerting Evans about it. He looked out at the gloomy rain. He again though, but this time about what Seaver said. Irony or not, but Banks was also having a funny feeling. The rain was certainly not helping him think much, and Banks realized how much the strenuous drive made him tired.

He closed his eyes and let the monotonous roar of the rain put him to sleep.

* * *

AN: I put the Bible in on purpose. No, I am not religious, and I don't want to spread any religious ideas or anti-religious ideas. In fact, if for some reason someone decides to take this offensively, I will say it at once: It is not meant not be offensive, and I will remove all comments about it if they get out of hand.

Other than that: Sorry for making you guys wait so long. All fault is mine.


	5. We Need To Do More

_**AN: This is the first attempt at chapter five. Unfortunately, it took me an entire five pages to get to where the real chapter five starts, therefore, here is the first part. You can skip it if you want to, the real chapter five summaries these five pages. Read if you want to, but you won't miss much important stuff if you skip ahead.**_

* * *

Chapter Five: We Need To Do More

"**So this is where we must part. I will go my way, and you will go on yours. When we we meet again, I do not know."**

"**We have to part earlier than I expected to. What caused the change of plans?"**

"**We had to move things forwards. We can't proceed normally after that fiasco. It will take us back for quite some time, and yet, we must move forwards even quicker. This is why we part. You will need to be my eyes and ears. I will do the rest."**

"**And what is your plan exactly?"**

"**I have not completed it yet. But be certain about two things: We will strike fast and hard, at the same time guaranteeing a halt on our opponent's involvement. But we must act soon, while they still think that we are down."**

"**How confident are you that the plan will work? What if something goes wrong? We can't afford many mistakes."**

"**No, but you will have to trust me on this one. Why are you so concerned? Having doubts?"**

"**Well... yes. You told me it was impossible to find."**

"**They must have found it somehow. Don't worry about it. We all have our moments of doubt. I did. You'll figure it out. Sooner or later. Relax, we're in this together. I will listen to you."**

"**Thanks."**

"**Don't mention it. See you in a few weeks perhaps? Maybe a little longer?"**

"**We shall see."**

"**Likewise"**

Banks was rather unpleasantly woken up when someone started knocking on the Humvee window he rested his head against. The knocks echoed and rattles rather painfully through his skull, causing him to sit up and quickly and open his eyes. Seaver was outside, smiling. Banks frowned, yawned, and opened the door.

"Rise and shine!" Seaver announced. "Got some nice hot Joe and soup for breakfast, but you'll need to get out first." Seaver stepped aside to let Banks get out of the vehicle.

Banks slowly got out and stretched when he was no longer enclosed. Yawning loudly again, he looked outside. The storm had passed, but not without leaving a mark. Everything was soggy, and parts of the plains below the hill looked like parts were submerged underwater. He looked up, and saw that at least the tip of Priderock didn't drip down. Banks looked at his watch. He was woken up at the same early morning as they always were up. Didn't prevent him from feeling extra tired. He sat down next to the others, who were huddled around a stove, eating breakfast. Seaver sat down next to him.

The humans sat under Priderock, silently eating breakfast as they simply let the time pass. When he was finished, Mardindale spoke up. "Listen, guys, I've been thinking. It's been what? Many weeks already. All we found were three guns. So what? I think that we are looking in the wrong area. We need to do more."

Evans looked up from his bowl. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Mardindale sighed. "Well, when we found the guns, they were close to the border. So I am thinking that well, what if we can find more clues outside the border?"

Banks shook his head. After swallowing some soup, he said, "I don't know. Africa is one of the biggest continents in the world. We found something here. Yes, three guns are not much, but considering the chances of finding them when we don't even know what we are looking for... maybe look further out the border, but I still think that we should stay here, if only because the lions are a great help. Wasn't Simba the one who found the guns?"

Mardindale laughed softy. "Yes, that is true. Hmm... wait a second. Remember yesterday? Simba wanted to show us something, but I don't remember him actually explaining what it was. I don't think that he knows himself-" He frowned. "I don't like this. Mufasa said that Simba had a nasty tenancy to get into trouble, even accidentally. And I'd hate to think that we somehow slacked on our patrols, but what are the chances that we are missing something? These lions are not clueless. If there is something they can't describe, I'm calling human on it."

Seaver thought for a moment. "If anything is happening, not here, that much is certain. Yes, I'd think that it will be better to expand our perimeter, but it will become harder to patrol. Keep in minds that we can't use the Hummer seeing as fuel is limited. And if Mufasa will object to our border crossings, well, number one, this isn't the only border we crossed, and two, we can always pull the 'we don't follow your laws' card. By the way speaking if fuel, Banks, when was the last time you checked on the Huey?"

Banks shook a finger. "Sooner than you think, Seaver. I checked it out yesterday, along with Evans. It's all fine. Why are you suddenly so concerned about it?"

Seaver shrugged. "Have a bad feeling." he muttered softly.

Evans shrugged. "Just a precaution. We also packed up the tents. Bet you that the area where they were at is now flooded over. And anyways-" he stopped suddenly when some stepping noises were heard from above them. It was Sarabi, coming down, Simba and Nala leading the way. The two cubs were all smiles and energy, while Sarabi was still trying to wake up, still moving roughly like a zombie.

Sarabi nodded a small greeting to the humans after blinking some life into her eyes. "I thought I heard you down here. But I'm amazed, not many dare to seek shelter under a lion's den, even after the worse of storms." she said, wit ha hint of amusement. She then sighted the Humvee, standing where Banks parked it the day before, and stopped in here tracks. "How did that get here? Wasn't it back where you normally spend the night?"

At her question, the humans laughed. Seaver was the first to regain his composure. "We brought that here. Don't worry about it."

Simba and Nala didn't seem too concerned about the vehicle parked right under their home, but they already learned not to act too surprised around the humans. Simba looked energetic for the early part of the morning it was. "Hey, today we can go and see the cool place!" he announced. No wonder he was up so early.

Sarabi looked down at her son. "And where is this cool place?" she asked. The last time he had said that, Hyenas were involved.

Simba's bright smile faltered a little. "Well... I don't know exactly. Swifty told me about it. Just follow the small creek until you get near the border. He also said that the cool place was impossible to miss."

"But we were already at the edge yesterday. There wasn't interesting in sight." Nala said. "Are you sure that's what the cheetah said?"

Simba opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by both Zazu, who flew in, and Sarabi. "Son, on which side of the border did he refer to?" She asked.

Zazu landed, bowed to Sarabi, and turned to Simba, who looked confused, not knowing the answer to Sarabi's question. "Young master, I talked to the cheetah, and I know what you are talking about. I however cannot let you go there."

Simba faltered, shocked. "What do you mean I can't go there. Surely we can go there! Right mom?" he looked up at Sarabi, hopeful, Nala also looked up at the queen. She looked at Zazu, letting him explain.

Zazu sighed. "Ma'am, it's far. Why, it's at least twice as far from the border as the border is from here."

Simba sank, defeated. Nala leaned over, trying to comfort him. Sarabi kneeled down. "I'm sorry son, but you know that I can't even allow you to go across the border, let alone anywhere far away form it." Simba nodded slowly. He understood the reason, but from what Swifty had told him, he simply had to see the place.

Banks motioned for Zazu to follow him. He lead the bird around the base of Priderock until he was out of earshot. "Zazu, can you describe the place?" The bird nodded.

"Yes, it's like a, like a forest. But it's not made of trees. More like individual branches. And they shine in the sun, like water. Hard to describe. Really is amazing, and I' saddened that I can't allow Simba there." Banks raised his eyebrows. The description didn't sound right.

Banks nodded. "What if we take him there? With us, it will take a lot less time, and we need to explore a much wider area. This provides a perfect opportunity for us to go twice the distance that we normally patrol."

Zazu flapped his wings nervously. "I don't know. I can talk to Mufasa about it, but it's up to him."

Banks nodded, and Zazu took off into the den.

Banks went back under the rock to the others. When he arrived, Zazu was already leading Mufasa down from the den. Mufasa looked at Banks. "I want to know how you'll be able to lead Simba to that place and get back there in time." he said. Simba's ears perked up, and he and Nala both looked at Mufasa, hopeful again.

Banks motioned at the Humvee. "Using that, we can move much faster, and the entire time be protected. He walked over to it and opened a door. Knocking on it, he said "It's not the same, but think of it as a wall of rock. Not much can get through this, nothing that you might worry about."

Thinking for a few moments, Mufasa nodded. "Alright. You two can come." Simba and Nala jumped with joy. But Mufasa wasn't finished. "Zazu will come with you," he warned, "and no losing him either." While saying that, he wasn't looking at either Simba or Nala, but rather at Banks, who noticed the warning tone and glare of the large lion.

Banks backed a little. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going." he said. He was planning on getting plenty of rest while the others did all the annoying "chores".

Mardindale retrieved a paper with the schedule on it and read it over. "It's best that more than one human goes with them, so it looks like... you, Seaver and... I will be going."

Simba ran over. "Well then, let's go!" Nala also ran up, already eager. Zazu looked worried sick.

Mardindale sighed. "It's not going to be that quick and easy. You need to learn how to ride in a car among other things..."

Seaver knew that they had to leave soon, otherwise Simba or Nala might explode. "Come on, Mardy. Let's get out of here." He opened a back door in the Humvee and motioned Simba and Nala to hop in. "Ready for the ride of a lifetime?" He asked.

* * *

AN: This is only the first half of the "chapter", but it's already long enough, and I consider it important enough to keep. Mostly because I can and the exposition at the front. Expect the next chapter sometime soon. It's mostly done. I consider this part the hardest to write, so hopefully, after these two, it will be easier sailing.


	6. Is This A Human Den?

Chapter Six: Is That a Human Den?

"**So this is where we must part. I will go my way, and you will go on yours. When we we meet again, I do not know."**

"**We have to part earlier than I expected to. What caused the change of plans?"**

"**We had to move things forwards. We can't proceed normally after that fiasco. It will take us back for quite some time, and yet, we must move forwards even quicker. This is why we part. You will need to be my eyes and ears. I will do the rest."**

"**And what is your plan exactly?"**

"**I have not completed it yet. But be certain about two things: We will strike fast and hard, at the same time guaranteeing a halt on our opponent's involvement. But we must act soon, while they still think that we are down."**

"**How confident are you that the plan will work? What if something goes wrong? We can't afford many mistakes."**

"**No, but you will have to trust me on this one. Why are you so concerned? Having doubts?"**

"**Well... yes. You told me it was impossible to find."**

"**They must have found it somehow. Don't worry about it. We all have our moments of doubt. I did. You'll figure it out. Sooner or later. Relax, we're in this together. I will listen to you."**

"**Thanks."**

"**Don't mention it. See you in a few weeks perhaps? Maybe a little longer?"**

"**We shall see."**

"**Likewise"**

Mardindale pressed the brakes gently to slow the Humvee to a stop. The ride from the Pridelands was mostly uneventful, unless he counted the fact that both Simba and Nala got carsick almost right away. Neither of them wanted to stop, though. So he kept on driving, the flat African savanna, even wet with mud from the storm, was no challenge for the rugged off-roader. That was until they came into view of the destination. When he saw it, Mardindale's stomach dropped. Now he had to drive over there to get a better look.

Seaver spotted the outlines on the horizon, and immediately caught his breath. Zazu was right. It was impossible to miss 'the cool place' or as his description was, 'shiny trees'. He unconsciously fingered the pistol in his holster he hid, for to humans, it was instantly recognizable: the 'trees' were in fact radio antennas, poking conspicuously out of the ground.

When the vehicle stopped, both Simba and Nala let out a relived sigh. Zazu, in turn, was angry. "You told me that they would be fine!" He told Mardindale, not trying to hide his anger. "When Mufasa learns of this-"

Mardindale waved him off. "They will be fine. Don't worry about it." He let Seaver unstrap the cubs to let them out of the Humvee. "It's only a little motion sickness. They'll be alright soon."

Simba and Nala groaned to show that they didn't agree. Simba didn't dare to talk, nor could he wait until Seaver released the over-tight straps. As soon as he was free, Simba dived out of the car to the outside world. All he could do then was lie down and wait for the ground to stop spinning. However, like Mardindale said, he was starting to feel better. When he felt good enough for his curiosity to take over, he got up and looked at the strange trees in front of them. "Come on, Nala! Let's go check it out!" He said, not willing to wait any longer.

Simba was about to run over when something pressed down on his tail and he fell over on his stomach. From above him, he heard Seaver's voice say, "Not so fast, now. It might be dangerous." Seaver removed his boot from Simba's tail, a trick he saw Simba's parents pull sometimes, and crouched down to get closer to the cubs. "Mardy's volunteered to check for any danger, while I get to teach you about what you see here," he told the cubs. Even Zazu came over again to listen. Seaver took out his radio, and pullout out its antenna the farthest it could go. "You already know what this is," he told them, "And those, they are essentially the same thing, but bigger and more powerful. With our radios, I can talk to Mardy from across the Pridelands, right? Well with these, I can talk with Mardy no matter where he is." Seaver explained.

Both Simba and Nala let out a 'wow' and looked at the antennas poking out of the ground. Something didn't seem right to Nala, though. "But if these are just bigger of your... radios... why are they dangerous?" She asked. Simba nodded in agreement.

"Why are they just in the ground here?" He asked. "And why didn't dad know about them before?"

Zazu tried explaining that question. "You dad didn't know about them because they are outside of the Pridelands." He told Simba.

Simba didn't get it. "But dad knows about places well outside the lands. He and mom sometimes tell me stories about them." he argued. "They never talked about this."

Zazu was about to open his beak, when Mardindale cut him off, and answered Simba. He was just coming back, and looking rather agitated. "No one knew about these before because they were hidden. Very well." He motioned at some ground to the side. Lying on the muddy ground, broken and twisted, was a covering of camouflaged netting covered with plants to look like the surrounding savanna.

"What is that?" Simba asked. He didn't know what the camouflage was. "Why is the ground so messed up there?"

Mardindale sighed. "Someone didn't want this to be found. I reckon that the storm blew the covering off, and that is why we were able to learn about it. That 'messed up ground', as you call it, is a covering that when placed over the antennas, will make them look like more savanna. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Seaver got up to get a better look. "I think we should go back," he told the others. "I don't like this.. place..." something bothered him. "Mardy, is it just me, or is the hill we are on rather... rectangular?" Sure enough, where the hill dipped, the edges were unnaturally straight, with clearly angular corners, even if the ground softened up those features. "Simba, Nala, Zazu," he said slowly, "Get in the car. Now."

They didn't move. It was only when he turned to them and they saw his expression did they finally move. When they left, Seaver and Mardindale discussed what they should do.

Mardindale analyzed the edges of the hill. Definitely man-made. "I don't like this. This is clearly artificial. Somebody's been here, but not very recently. But if we leave, the owners might decide to come back. And our tire tracks are a dead giveaway for them. We need to dig now, while we are here. One of us stays with the cubs, the other looks." He spotted a section of flat ground that was nett-like. The wet mud had slid through holes there. "I'll dig. You say with them." Mardindale said.

Seaver protested the decision. "Why me?" he demanded. He didn't want to be the one stuck at the car with the cubs. Digging would be dangerous. He wanted to do it.

Mardindale put a hand on Seaver's shoulder. "So that if anyone's actually home, you don't get shot." He walked to the Humvee and pulled out a rifle from the trunk.

Seaver took out his own rifle, but still insisted on doing the job. "You're the medic. What if you get shot?" Mardindale ignored him.

"Guard the car. Scan the horizon. Got it?" Mardindale walked up to the area where he thought the ground was hollow. Hopping, he was able to get a good bounce on the ground. Definitely follow. He felt where the ground turned solid and crouched down. Raising the butt of the rifle, he smashed it on the hollow ground. Nothing happened, so he tried again.

Inside the Humvee, the others watched Mardindale try to break the ground, while Seaver scanned the horizon. Simba was curious why Mardindale was furiously bashing the ground. "Why is Mardy hitting the ground?" he asked.

Seaver stole a quick glance. "Because that's not ground over there." he said. Sure enough, after a few more hard hits, the ground next to Mardindale shattered. It was a wooden covering.

Mardindale pulled out a flashlight and inspected the hole he made. He peered inside, and saw what he didn't want to. There was a wall inside, with a door. Both looked like heavy-duty shelters. He called out to Seaver, who had the cubs remain in the vehicle and came over. He then explained his plan. "We need to get inside. Both of us."

"What about the cubs?" Seaver asked after looking inside the hole. "We can't let them in there." Together, the two of them lifted up more of the wood. It was heavy, covering a large surface area: easily five feet wide and ten feet long. The wood covering was concealing a walkway to the door. Seaver narrowed his eyes. "Is that what I think it is?" he asked.

Mardindale thought where he saw something like that before. "That's... a bunker." he realized. "What would something like that be all the way out here?" And there was another odd thing about it: "Ignoring the fact that it's a bunker. Doesn't it look like a World War Two construction? Did they even fight it here. I thought it was up in North Africa, where the deserts were."

Seaver frowned. He didn't like this at all. "We need to get inside. Breach the door, storm inside. See what's going on." he said finally. "I'll alert the others. You, go to the car. Get us some weapons." He handed back the rifles. "These are too big. We need something small. M4's. Get us those." Mardindale nodded and got up to replace the weapons. "And make sure that the doors are closed!" Seaver called out. Better make sure that the cubs will remain inside.

Mardindale walked over to the Humvee and rummaged through the car before he pulled out two of the shortened rifles. He closed the trunk and went over to the back seats, where the cubs and Zazu were, looking curious. "Listen, I need you to stay in here. We will go underground here, and if we are not back soon, Zazu, get them out of here."

Zazu nodded. "What might be there. I noticed you were able to... pull the ground apart."

Simba agreed. "Can't we have a look?" He asked. Nala looked hopeful that they would be allowed to explore.

Mardindale shook his head. "I would allow you to, but I can't guarantee that it's safe there. That thing, humans built it... We don't know why. I can't let you inside. It's.. complicated." Mardindale pulled of his watch and set a timer for ten minutes. "If this starts to make a lot of noise, you run back to the Pridelands. Should be back by nightfall. If not, Zazu, leave Simba and Nala where they can be found, fly ahead, get one of the others. They will be able to pick you up quickly enough."

Zazu nodded. "What about you two?" He asked, sounding worried.

Mardindale held up the rifles. "We'll be safe enough. Remember, if that thing starts screeching, and you don't see us, run as fast as you can. If you see fire or smoke, run. If you hear anything, run."

Simba didn't like the sound of that. "Why all the running?" he asked. For a normally boastful, adventurous cub, even he knew that there was something wrong.

Mardindale smiled, pretending that everything would be fine. "You father told us that he heard that humans are dangerous." he said. "They can be. Just avoid them when possible. A bit too late with us, but you get the idea. That's why there's all the running. Just trying to keep you safe." He said. "Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves." He then showed them how to open the door if they were to run, and then closed it behind them. "Stay out of sight. Look outside through the windows if you want, but if you see anything approaching, run." Nala giggled at this last warning. Mardindale ignored her and closed the door.

Meanwhile, Seaver pulled out his radio and called the others.

* * *

Banks, Evans, and Russel were still setting up their camp again when Seaver called them. Russel answered it. "Hey, Seaver, did you get there?"

Back at the bunker, Seaver rolled his eyes. "Or course we did. What do you think? Look, don't don't, and let me get to the point. We found something. It's berried underground in what looks like a Second World War Bunker."

Russel was surprised. That was the last thing he expected. He called the other two over to the radio. "Seaver, listen to us, don't do anything stupid. It might be trapped. Let us come there first-"

Seaver cut him off. "No! Mardy and I are going in. We can't risk someone arriving here before we know what's inside. The cubs are safe. They're in the Humvee. We will go in, and see what's inside. I want you to figure out what a bunker is doing all the way out here. Got it?"

Russel sighed. "Yeah. Got it. And Seaver... Be careful." he said simply. Seaver killed the signal.

* * *

Seaver put away the radio and took a rifle from Mardindale. "Right, we go in MOUT style, and see what's going on."

Mardindale laughed at Seaver's reference to urban warfare training. He attached a flashlight to the bottom of his rifle, and had Seaver do the same. "Let's not turn any lights while we are inside. Ready?" Seaver nodded.

The two men went over to the door and tried to open it. Sure enough, it wouldn't budge. Mardindale attacked some plastic explosive on it, and the two of them took cover as he exploded the charge. "So much for subtle," Seaver commented as Mardindale rigged the door. He noticed the cubs watching them through the Humvee's window. "Get down!" He shouted at them, motioning with his arms for them to duck.

At the same time in the Humvee, the cubs and Zazu watched the two humans prepare. Zazu frowned when he saw Saver and Mardindale get ready. "Whatever they are doing, they don't look very cheerful about it." he commented. "What are they doing now?" he asked when he saw them attach something to the rock they uncovered. His frown only deepened when the two humans ran around the corned and hid. Seaver shouted something, but his voice didn't carry through. He motioned something, and

The next thing Zazu knew, a deafening boom ripped through the air, and he let out a surprised squawk. Simba and Nala also screamed and dived for the floor. When it was apparent that everything was fine, they cautiously looked out the window, just in time to see Seaver and Mardindale disappear into the rock.

As soon as the door blew open, the two men charged inside through the dust and smoke. Of course, they were only in one small corridor with the machine gun hole facing them. It was empty. Cautiously, they went inside the dark passageways, illuminated only by their flashlights. The air was cool and damp, smelling of concrete wood. It seemed to clean, to clean of dust that should have accumulated over the many decades. There were no cobwebs in their way. The place was quiet. Too quiet. They made their way through the dark corridor, but something was amiss: there were no large rooms. Seaver didn't like it. "Mardy, something isn't right here," he muttered under his breath.

Mardindale looked at the walls, then brought his flashlight closer to one. It wasn't a wall. He swept his beam over the corridor's edges, and his theory was confirmed. "Seaver, we are in room. And it's filled with large boxes." Seaver looked to make sure himself. He nodded, but it was lost to Mardindale, who couldn't see Seaver's face.

The two made continued to make their way through the building, chipping on the box edges to tell them where they have been before. Eventually, they reached what they thought was the last dead end. Seaver brought up his gun at ready. "There is no one here. Just us and the boxes." He told Mardindale, his voice echoing through the place.

Mardindale sighed. "Let;s find out what the boxes have. Cover the door while I pry one open." The two of them made their way back to the entrance. They were about half way through when they heard something. Immediately, two gun were brought to bare.

Out of the darkness, slowly heading into the light, Zazu emerged, followed by Simba and Nala. Seaver sighed in anger. "Simba, I told you to stay in the car!" He hissed angrily. Simba didn't look at him.

Zazu cleared his throat to get the other's attention. "Actually, it was my idea," he said softly. "That thing you left behind, it went off, but nothing seemed wrong, so I decided to go in here after you." he explained. "The cubs can see in the dark, unlike you two." He added.

Mardindale also let out an exasperated sigh. 'Well, Zazu, your idea nearly got you killed. We told you to stay outside." he said. "But it's too late now. We checked everything. It's empty. We have something else to do here. And don't run off. It's a maze in here, and there's nothing to see." Mardindale shouldered his weapon and felt for one of the boxes. He felt the top of one, and pulled the box down. "Right, let's see what's in here," he breathed out. Using a knife, he pried open the lid. With his flashlight, he saw the contents of the box. His eyes widened.

Quickly standing up, he again got out his rifle. "Everyone, we are leaving." he announced. "Let's go. Now!"

Seaver lead the others back outside. When they got back to the African savanna, they had to re-accumulate to the dry, hot air and bright sunlight. He then ushered the cubs and Zazu back in the Humvee and strapped them in. "What was in the box?" He asked Mardindale.

Mardindale looked at him grimly. "What we were looking for." he said. "We will need to return at night. With the chopper. Clear this place out." Seaver nodded in understanding.

The two humans got into the Humvee. This time Seaver was driving, while Mardindale called Banks again to announce that they were heading back.

"I'll explain everything there," he said before cutting the signal.

In the backseat, Simba and Nala were discussing what they saw. Simba looked up at the back of Mardindale's head. "Is that a human den?" he asked. It was the only conclusion he could come up with.

Mardindale sighed. "No," he said. "It's something worse."

* * *

AN: Well this took longer than I thought. I had school finals, and I also rewrote this entire thing a few times. In fact, apart from the bold, everything is less than a week old. Now, big things are going to happen soon in the story. Sorry about the cliffhanger.

The bold in the beginning is supposed to be the same as the previous chapter (so that it's skip-able).

I would love to know what you guys think by leaving a review. I will appreciate them.


	7. Leave Us Alone

**An: Not much to say again. I tried to get more lion in, and less human. In fact, I found it more interesting to write from Mufasa's perspective than the humans, so you will see more lion in later chapters. Stalled in writing after I went on vacation and didn't write for a month, so it was slow coming back. But this chapters' done, and I did it in less than a year. :)**

**Thank you all for your reviews! I greatly appreciate them! Good or bad!**

Chapter 7: Leave Us Alone

"**So it is true. There is an infiltrator with us. It's the only explanation I can come up with. How else would they have discovered our site? It was perfectly hidden. No surveillance could have gotten it. Not by air, and definitely not by the ground. There's a reason why we used sensors there."**

"**It could have been just coincidence."**

"**Not after this much time. How long ago did _he_ say they were there? About a month now? Two? And suddenly, out of nowhere, an entire stock is gone! An entire investment!"**

"**He didn't know about it himself. We made sure of that. There were no leaks of any kind spotted. Our systems are secure."**

"**Then how did they find it? Do you know how much this sets us back? Easily several years! There was enough power in there to topple several small countries! Just arm the right people, and they do the work for you. Now we can't! This... this is an outrage. My vision depends on it working out like clockwork."**

"**So what do you say we do? We can't just, ignore them anymore. They know too much. But if they disappear, more Americans will come. We will need to do something covert. A lot like them, actually. We can't go public because they will deny it, but we too can trick them into leaving."**

"**You don't worry about that. I have the perfect plan. Capture one of them, and get them to sign a confession. It will create a scandal that they won't be able to ignore!"**

"**And how you propose stopping them from sending in a counter attack? We can't defend against a strong push. The more men we will keep to defend ourselves, the more likely we will be spotted anyways."**

"**I have figured that out as well. Capture one, and grab another. The target two type."**

"**Are you sure it will work?"**

"**They won't dare to do anything if we do. And once it's over, we can continue on planning our reformation. Find out exactly where they are, plan out a snatch mission, and contact me when you are ready."**

"**Yes sir."**

A loud noise woke Mufasa up. He opened his eyes and looked outside the den. It was still nighttime. The rest of the pride was still asleep, all the lions were in their normal spots. Mufasa smiled when he noticed Simba peacefully sleeping between him and Sarabi. The cub lay there, breathing slowly and regularly, unaware of the low, droning noise that made it's way into the den.

Mufasa sighed and slowly got up. He was about to leave the den when he felt a paw stopping him. It was Sarabi, who also woke up.

Sarabi looked up at Mufasa. "Where are you going?" she asked softly. "Go back to sleep."

Mufasa bent down so that he could whisper to her. "I'm going outside. Some noises brought me up, so I might as well go and investigate. I'm just going to check outside." he told her, and left the den into the cold night air.

He walked up to the tip of Priderock and looked around, but didn't see anything wrong. He was about to go back inside when he heard a short, barely audible, but sharp noise. It must have originated from a far distance. Mufasa frowned. Looks like he would have to pay the humans a visit. The night they arrived was similarly noisy. It had to be them.

Mufasa quickly returned to the den and checked on Sarabi. She was still awake, so he told her that he would be gone for a while. "Don't worry," he told her to stop her from protesting. "I'll be back soon." He left her before she could try and change his mind. He had to find out why the humans were making all that noise...

He cautiously approached the humans, ready for anything. He saw them talking together, and figured that it wasn't important enough to bother with, but he saw their stern expressions, and knew that something serious was going on. He crouched down, trying to get close without getting spotted. This was something that he didn't want them to hide the truth about... something they always did whenever he tried to pry information out of them. He couldn't hear what they were saying, so he edged closer until he could make out their words. It was Banks, talking to the others.

"...So he ordered us to stay put in the meantime, and be on extra careful guard. We still don't know where our target is, and it might come to us instead. Also- Hey Mufasa! Just the one we needed to see!" Mufasa instinctively crouched down, but he was already spotted by them. He let out a sigh and walked over to them.

"I've heard some loud noises and came to investigate." Mufasa said. "They came from your direction. Is there anything I should be aware of?" He asked. "And I want everything." Mufasa added, lowering his tone to show that he wasn't playing around. He was concerned for the safety of the Pridelands, and from what he heard already, that might be at stake now. He decided to say it. "Who's your 'target'? And what do you mean that it might come here? I have these lands to protect, you know!" He saw that his outburst agitated the humans. Good. That might bring some answers out of them. Mufasa waited for one of them to start talking.

Banks decided to speak first. "Look, the worst part is that we don't know yet who we're dealing with. Our entire mission is to find that out." Banks sighed, getting to the main point. "Yes, what you heard was us. I won't tell you exactly what we did, but I will tell you what will happen next." He took a breath before talking again. "We just contacted our superior. He believes that things can get very bad. So I will advice you to start avoiding us if you can. Every one of you. Not even Zazu." Banks said. "Also, our superior is coming here in a few days. To help out with our mission. For now, we are ordered to remain here."

Mufasa didn't like it. "It's about what you found in the day, isn't it?" He asked. Banks nodded slowly. "Where is it now, anyways? Still where you found it, then why are you here now?"

"Because it isn't there anymore." Banks replied. "We removed it. That's the noise you heard."

Mufasa didn't know what to do. He didn't even know how much he believed the humans. "So your telling me that my kingdom is in grave danger because of you?" Another nod. "And you must remain in the Priedlands?" Again, yes. "And if I will try to force you out? What if I send a hunting party to force you away? What will-"

"-You'll lose." This time, it wasn't Banks who spoke up, but Seaver. And what made Mufasa believe it was not who said it, but how. Seaver's cold, dark tone made it clear using force will not end well.

Mardindale spoke up, but quietly. "Do as Banks just told you to. Have you and your pride avoid us. Pretend we don't exist. We don't want you to get involved. It's the best for you."

Mufasa gave off a low growl. "What about you? You befriended Simba! And now he... he trusts you! And now you're telling me that his life could be in danger because of that? Maybe you should have thought of that as well before coming here!"

"That wouldn't have worked!" Banks angrily replied. "If you haven't noticed, something's going on here, and you don't know about it. It's our job to find out what's happening. So whether you like It or not, we're staying," He finished. "Make what you want of this, but remember that we're staying." He didn't want to end the conversation with so much hostility, so he added "Just leave us alone. It's for the best."

Mufasa nodded after a while. "So it comes to this, doesn't it?" He asked. The humans also nodded. Sighing, Mufasa finally said quietly, "Do what you want. Get your mission done and get out of here. Just keep my family out of this." He turned and left, wearily making his way back to the den. When he got inside, he saw that Sarabi was still awake, waiting for him.

"Did you find out what you wanted?" She asked him as soon as he lay down next to her. Mufasa nodded his head a little. "Mind telling me what you found out?"

Mufasa shook his head. "No. I'll have to explain it to the pride in the morning." He told her. He lay his head down and closed his eyes. Sarabi went to fetch Simba and came back shortly after, lying down next to him for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Mufasa found himself addressing his pride wearily. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Last night, I talked with the humans, and to my regret, things did not go well." He sighed. "They asked me to forbid you from interacting with them in any form. As usual, they didn't explain why. Just that it's safer for us if we didn't talk to them anymore." He said.

Simba looked up at him, confused. "But they are nice, dad! What make them so dangerous? I mean... I know that they can get somewhat weird, but even Nala and I can outrun them already. We even pinned Seaver once!" Next to him, Nala chuckled at the memory, and Simba also smiled.

Mufasa sighed sadly. "They may be slow, but they are still very dangerous, son." He said. "They specifically asked me to avoid any more contact with them." He looked at the rest of the pride. "The same goes for all of you. Don't bother them, and they won't bother us. They told me that it's for the best."

Simba and Nala didn't like the outcome. Those humans always had wonderful storied and their things they always carried around never ceased to amaze them. The two cubs did not want to simply stop. "But dad," Simba complained, "I trust them! They wouldn't harm us!"

Mufasa shook his head. "It's not that simple son. While I don't fully trust them, I don't think they will hurt us, but it's for another reason." He looked up again. "I hoped to tell you this at a more appropriate time when the cubs are away, but it looks like I don't have a choice." Mufasa said. "I overheard the humans talking. They said that soon, more humans might arrive, and will attack them. This is why they don't want us to interact with them. So that we wouldn't get caught in the middle of a human war." He looked down at Simba again. "I'm sorry that it comes down to this, son. I didn't want you to know, but I hope that it will convince you to let them be."

Simba looked down at the ground. "Alright dad. I won't go to them anymore." He said.

Mufasa nodded. "I know it's sudden. But I don't want you getting hurt." He said. "Also, I would like you to be with me, at least for a few days."

Simba looked up suddenly. "And watch you be king?" He asked excitedly. "Thanks dad!"

Mufasa smiled. "You're welcome, Simba."

* * *

Several days later, MacBain contacted the humans, saying that he would arrive in a few days. When that day arrived, the humans waited for him while still looking out for any trouble. The general came in driving a standard military truck. This one wasn't painted over, and remained the usual khaki drab of desert vehicles.

When he got out, the humans immediately saluted him, bit he waved them off. "Good day, gentlemen," he greeted, "But no salutes or sirs when I'm around. Understood?"

The others nodded. "Yes si- yes." They answered, stumbling on what they technically always said to a superior officer.

MacBain looked around. "I see that nothing has happened yet. That's both good and bad..." He analyzed. As he looked around, he explained some more things as the others stood by idly. "You know, I've been here on an assignment many years ago, which is why I asked you to come here in the first place, and then requested you stay here... The important thing is that I am here. The reason why I came down here is to be able to command you more efficiently. No time-zones to worry about." He motioned at the truck he came in. "Which is why I brought that." He reached into a pocked and pulled out a piece of paper. "This here explains how I want the stuff assembled. Find someplace where it's dark all the time and assemble all the equipment. I will in the meantime do something else." He gave the paper to Banks and turned, walking off into the savanna.

The others watched him go rather dumbstruck. "Wow," Evans commented, "That was..."

"Weird?" Mardindale suggested. The others laughed.

"Right, let's get this thing done." Banks said looking at the paper. "Looks like he wants us to set up some kind of command-control setup with a computer and projector. That explains the necessity for darkness. But where to find it? If we use the truck..."

Russell nodded. "The truck will work. And it can move if we need it to. But why is the general trusting _us _to set it up_._ How many regulations are we braking?"

Banks put the paper in his pocket and walked over to the truck before starting to remove the few boxes in the back. "Considering the first order we have tells us we don't exist, I don't think that we need to worry about a few regulations." He said. "Now help out, will you?" The others came in and they started to unpack the boxes as Banks told them which box held what part of the equipment. "Besides," he continued explaining, "We are following hi orders, so if you are concerned about losing your job,you won't. No one ever got court martialed for following orders."

With his explanation done, they assembled the equipment in the back of the truck, only talking when discussing how to assemble the construction properly.

After a long time, they finally finished. And just in time, as MacBain radioed that he was coming back. Banks looked around the back of the truck to get a better view. "Well what do you know? General's coming," he said nonchalantly. He then saw something else, and squinted to get a better picture. His coolness dropped immediately. "Oh no," he whispered, "That's... how does he know?" The others also peaked around and saw what got Banks was so worried about.

MacBain was coming back. And Mufasa was next to him.

* * *

"I've told you I was here before." MacBain said. It was nighttime, and the humans were catching up on what they missed. Apparently MacBain was at the Pridelands before on his own mission back in his ground-pounding days, which was why he wasn't shocked at seeing Mufasa. He then brought the king back to figure out a plan on how to get along without interfering with each other. When they finished that, Mufasa was sent back on his way. Now, MacBain was telling them about his previous mission in the Pridelands. "Uncle Sam wanted some baddies hushed, and so my team was sent in much like yours. Although our mission ended up going simpler, it didn't prevent us from meeting up with the pride."

"Was quite a shock, wasn't it?" Banks asked, remembering how they reacted upon seeing the talking lions.

MacBain nodded. "Yes. That was quite crazy, I'll admit. Which is one of the reasons why I asked for you on this mission," he said, "I went over your complete profiles. I can trust you not to tell about this back home. Why do you think I didn't tell you when you set off about the pride?"

Mardindale smiled. "Because we wouldn't believe you." He concluded.

MacBain nodded in agreement. "That's the most common reaction. But what if the wrong person actually believes you for some reason? This Pride will be hunted down and killed in the name of science. We can't let that happen. Now another thing is-"

Whatever he wanted to say, they didn't find out, for Russell and Evans, out on patrol, radioed in at that moment. "Spotted movement. Vehicle headlights." They said.

MacBain put the radio away. "Right, men. Let's get moving. Observe for now. Could be dangerous." He warned.

Several minutes later, the other three humans ran over to Russell and Evans and dropped down. "Just observe for now, we'll have another chance to capture one for interrogation later," MacBain said over the radio, back in his command truck.

Banks peered through a pair of night vision binoculars. He saw a pickup driving along the savanna. "Driver's armed." He announced. "So is the passenger. Ha passengers in the back. Also armed. Doesn't look like a nobody. Could be our men." He watched as the truck drove over the savanna slowly. It stopped, and several armed men got out. All were armed. They looked around, searching for something.

MacBain again radioed in. "Can you zoom in on the guy on the left? Grab his face." Banks increased the power on his binoculars and zoomed in one the man's face. "Yes," MacBain said again. "It's our guys. Wait for them to leave and return back to me. We'll need to figure out how to get our hands on a man and figure out where they're at. We can't follow them. Too risky."

The intruders got back in the pickup and it drove off. It was confirmed. The mission will proceed into the next stage.

* * *

AN: School will start soon, but I figured out a way for me to write more, so while I will again take ages to update, it won't be several months again. I hope. I know that I am unreliable author, so I simply ask you to please bear with me and review my stories. Thanks again for reading this and reviewing if you did.


	8. Blind Man's Bluff

AN: Thanks for the reviews guys! I appreciate them all. Anyways, on with the story! Yes, I know it's been a while. But that's me. I can be knocked down, but never out!

Chapter 8: Blind Man's Bluff

"**Sir, I've got a plan. It's risky, but bold. We can move in tonight. They won't suspect a thing. Swoop in and out before they get a chance to respond. It's our only way. Besides, we wait for them to make the first move."**

"**I don't care how long it will take you. Get in, get it done, get out. Don't leave them a chance to strike back. Remember: You lose your momentum, you're dead."**

"**Got it, Sir. We'll move quickly."**

"**Also, be careful. They probably observed you just as much as you did them. Like you said, they are prepared for anything."**

"**We've taken that into account, sir."**

"**Very well. Good luck."**

"**Yes sir."**

In the darkness covering the savanna, Simba yawned before sprinting ahead of Mufasa through the nighttime savanna. "Come on, dad! You're too slow!" Even though he wanted to sleep, the cub wasn't going to show his drowsiness now. Not any more, at least. Not after Mufasa had woken him up in the middle of the night in order to go star-gazing. Initially, the last thing Simba wanted to do was to leave Sarabi's warmth, but Mufasa insisted, and Simba gave in with a quick goodbye to Sarabi. So now he was running though the savanna with Mufasa close behind him. "Come on, dad!"

Mufasa sighed as the kid ran off again. "Stay close, Simba!" He called out ahead. Normally, he would have allowed his son a bit more freedom, even now, in the middle of the night, but the humans had made it clear that he and the rest of the pride should start avoiding them, and to keep an eye on anything unusual. The king rather regretted having to close his ties with the crazy monkeys, but they gave him a clear warning to mind his own business. And from what Mufasa had seen through the past few days, it was no idle warning either.

Simba quickly made his way back to the king, only to run off again. Mufasa gave off a low chuckle. Somehow, most likely from Zazu, Simba found out that Mufasa was planning to take him stargazing one night, and asked about it. With the surprise gone, Mufasa figured that this night was as good as ever to go.

"Over here, Simba," he called out when he reached the top of a small mound. The cub quickly ran over and settled on his father's back. Mufasa smiled, preparing to tell Simba what was passed onto him by his own father, and his father before that. This wasn't something Mufasa wasn't to mess up on, and he recalled how it was like when it was him and Ahadi together, so long ago... Mufasa felt Simba shift a little on his back, the movement bringing him back to reality.

"Simba, let me tell you something my father told me: Look at the stars..." As if in rehearsed perfection, Mufasa told Simba the lore of the great kings of the past, and in turn, his son listened intently. Together, the two of them spent an unknown amount of time together, just the two of them under the blanket of stars covering the night sky.

Simba was lost in his father's words when suddenly, he felt the large lion stiffen from under him and grow silent. "What is it dad?" Simba asked. "Did you see something?"

Mufasa scanned the area around them carefully. He swore that he heard something akin to a twig breaking near them. As though a creature wasn't where they were supposed to be. "Simba," he whispered, "I need you to get off me, but slowly. Stay in front of me..." Even as he felt the cub slide off his back, Mufasa was peering though the darkness at the grass surrounding them, watching for any sign of trouble. "I know your here!" He called out into the night. "Show yourself!"

His eyes widened in fear when no less then five hyenas emerged from cover, snickering lightly at the lion and his cub. Instinctively, Mufasa moved Simba behind his paws, protecting his son with his own boy from the danger. "What are you doing here?" He demanded, staring down at the hyenas. "You know you don't belong in these lands!"

The hyenas didn't seem to be intimidated. One of them stepped forward, clearly not afraid of the large lion. "Well you know, life isn't all that fair. Even your great circle of life thing, doesn't it have a few flaws of its own?" Mufasa glared at them, not responding. "We thought that we can change some things. Improve them for the better." The hyena laughed loudly at Mufasa. "I don't see why such a smart lion as yourself would object to such changes. Don't we all want to live a perfect life? But for that, we need your... cooperation." It let out a laugh, echoed by the other assembled hyenas. "Well, more like your death, at any rate." As soon as the hyena finished talking, it, and the rest charged forward.

Normally he would have stood and fought. But with Simba with him, there was question about it. Mufasa quickly bent down, scooped up his son in his jaws, and tore off into the night, the hyenas hot on his heels. Mufasa ran, knowing that the only chance he had lay in the safety of Priderock. But as he ran for their home, more hyenas emerged from the grasslands, all giving chase. With dread, Mufasa realized that the hyenas were herding him away from Priderock. And judging by Simba's scared cries, the cub knew it too. But Mufasa couldn't tell his son not to worry. It was hard enough to keep himself from biting down in frustration and hurting his own son. Not willing to let himself get run over to even greater danger, Mufasa forced the hyenas next to him to move aside, and resisted their herding with all his might.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, Mufasa somehow managed to lose his chasers. He carefully looked around for more danger before setting Simba down on the ground. His massive body heaved as he struggled to regain his breath. "It's alright, son, " he told Simba softly, "We're safe now."

As soon as he touched the ground, Simba ran behind his father's forelegs, shaking violently against them. "Why were they chasing us, dad?" he asked. "Can we go home now dad? I- I'm scared."

Mufasa nodded at his son. "Yes. We'll go home now. Enough happened for one night..." He looked around, trying to regain his bearings. He had to find out why there were so many hyenas out and about at this night, but not with Simba around and in danger. He had to get his son home first. "Come on, son. Let's go."

He was about to pick Simba up again when something stung him sharply in the flank. Mufasa turned around quickly, trying to spot what could have caused the pain, but he didn't see anything in the bush.

"Dad, what's going on?"

Mufasa turned back to his son. The pain can wait. He picked Simba up in his jaws, and with one final sweep of the grasslands, he began to walk back to Priderock as quickly as he dared. Initially, he felt Simba shake in his grip, but the more he walked, the calmer the cub got.

But just as Mufasa began to feel like everything would turn out to be fine, and that he would get Simba home without any further incident, he began to feel unusually dizzy. Mufasa ignored the feeling, but when he nearly fell over, he couldn't ignore it any longer. He placed Simba back on the ground, trying to to fall over as he did.

Simba scrambled onto his legs and saw that Mufasa was looking weird. "Dad, what's wrong?" He asked. When Mufasa didn't answer, Simba nudged him gently on the leg. "Dad?"

Mufasa was able to briefly regain his senses and look down at the cub. "Simba, I need you to go home..." he paused, finding it hard to speak. "Get help... but don't come back here... until it's safe... go! Go home..." This time he really did fall over, and was unable to move his limbs any more. The lack of control started to scare him, but he didn't have much time to worry about it before unconsciousness set in.

Simba let out a cry of fear when Mufasa suddenly fell over. "Dad?.. Dad, you have to get up!" He quickly tried to get Mufasa to budge, but the large lion was too big and heavy to move. "Come on, dad!" But no matter how hard he tried, Simba wasn't able to get Mufasa to move. Tears started to blur his vision as he tried yet again to get Mufasa up to no avail. After another shove when Mufasa didn't move, Simba backed away suddenly, feeling more afraid than he ever did before. With his father's body besides him, Simba felt small and helpless. He looked around desperately for any signs of anyone else. Spotting the outline of Priderock against the night sky, he broke off into a run.

"Help!" Simba cried out as loudly as he could, hoping that someone will here him. But instead, his voice only faded into the blackness. "Somebody!" Finding it hard to keep running, Simba slowed to a slow walk. "Anybody!" Still, no one answered. "Help..." he croaked out quietly, unable to raise his voice anymore as he was overtaken by sobbing.

He turned back to his father's body, wondering what to do. He was about to crawl back to the fallen lion when he remembered what Mufasa had last told him. Quickly turning back towards Priderock, Simba somehow found the strength to run again as fast as he could, clinging onto the last bit of hope that if he can reach an adult in time, Mufasa will end up alright.

The cub ran home as fast as he could, concentrating on only getting back, that he was startled when something big stepped in front of him, blocking his path. The hyenas were back. The one that blocked Simba faced the cub with a twisted smile on its face.

"Where are you going, little guys?" It asked. "Don't you know it's not safe to be alone out at a time like this?" As it spoke, other hyenas encircled Simba, blocking any chance of escape. "I think you should come with us," the hyena said, snickering, "don't worry. We'll be gentle."

Simba was about to try and make a beeline for Priderock when something else spoke up, starling all of them.

"He is not alone." It was Seaver. The human emerged from the grass and walked over to Simba before turning back to the hyenas. "So all of you better back off," he said loudly, "way off."

The hyenas didn't move, but were now eying Seaver instead of Simba. "No we won't," the same hyena spoke up defiantly. "You don't know what you are getting into." It laughed loudly, which was echoed by the others. "So you should be the one to back of. But leave the cub to us."

Seaver didn't move. "That's not going to happen." He replied coldly. He stared down at the hyenas, and eventually they turned away and left, disappearing into the grass. For all their words and tough acting, they simply left without a fight.

Seaver immediately crouched down towards Simba. "I heard you calling for help and came as fast as I could... Why are you alone at night anyways?" It was then that he felt that the cub was shaking violently. "Simba, what happened?" he asked softly. "Everything is going to be okay. Come on, I'll get you home." He got up, and was about to lead Simba back to Priderock when he felt that they weren't alone again.

Pulling out his pistol, Seaver scanned the area next to them, knowing that something wasn't right. He also pulled out his radio and whispered into it, "guys, I think we have visitors." With his foot, he gently nudged Simba forwards. "Come on, let's go."

Seaver also took a step forwards, only to feel something hard collide at the back of his head through the helmet. As he fell, he head Simba cry out in fear, but was already unable to do anything to help as something big and heavy pinned him against the ground.

* * *

When Simba saw Seaver get knocked to the ground, he didn't stay to see what was attacking them. The cub turned and ran as fast as he could, screaming for help but only ran for a short distance before something shard grabbed his tail. With a pained cry, Simba fell, only to be lifted into the air roughly, leaving him hanging upside down and finally getting a look at the hyena that got him.

He was brought back to where he left Seaver, who was surrounded my more humans, although these Simba did not recognize. One of them looked at the hyena, and then at Simba.

"You got the cub? Good, Let's get out of here," he said, and motioned for the others to follow him.

Simba felt his stomach drop in fear. Where was he being taken? Why? What was going on? But with his head almost scraping the ground below him, Simba wasn't able to see anything apart from grass and the occasional foot.

What felt like an eternity later, but in reality less than a minute, Simba felt the group stop moving and was roughly dropped on the ground. Before he could get up and run, the hyena pressed down on him, keeping him in place.

"You have done well," the human told the hyena, "but now we leave you here. Get the rest of your pack and get out of here before you are discovered. Things were mostly quiet for now, but soon they will get loud, and I don't want you to be discovered. So if you-"

"Things are certainly about to get loud now, and drop your weapons. Right now." Seaver spoke up, sounding rough but determined. Apparently, his captor got lazy and gave him the opportunity to break free, and grab a gun which he was now pointing at the others. He also saw that they were brought over to a plane, but how it got there in the first place he didn't know. "No one move," he said sternly, "not one inch." He watched as the intruders all put down their rifles on the ground.

"That's not how it works, American," the stranger said, not intimidated, "you may want to drop that gun now."

Seaver didn't drop it. "I don't think so." He felt around for his radio, but realized that it must have fallen when he was clubbed over the head.

Seeing that Seaver was distracted, one of the other humans dived for a gun. Without hesitating, Seaver pointed the gun at him and fired. The loud crackle echoed through the land, punctuating the chaos that erupted from the move as everyone moved at once. More gunfire tore into the night.

Never really having a chance, Seaver was again hit over the head before getting hauled into the plane.

Simba, who cowered at the sound of the gunfire, felt the pressure on him lessen, and he scampered to his feet. He was about to run when one of the humans grabbed him, and pressed something sharp into his side.

Both Simba and Seaver were tossed into the back of the plane where they were tied up and subdued.

Simba, scared and not knowing what was happening, moved as close as he could over to Seaver, before passing out as the drug took its tole.

* * *

Mufasa groaned as he felt someone shake him awake. His skull felt too small to contain his head, and his confusion didn't help. Blinking, Mufasa managed to focus onto Mardindale's face. The normally cheerful human was clearly agitated, and even more worryingly, was alone.

"Mufasa, come on, wake up," Mardindale said softly, "something bad happened. We heard gunfire, and found you. Seaver's missing."

Mufasa frowned as it took him a few moments to recall the name. "Seaver? Gone?" His eyes widened in fear and and the lion quickly sat up, only to nearly fall over again from sickness. "Where-" he gasped out, "where's Simba?" He asked.

Mardindale was shocked. "What do you mean where's Simba?"

* * *

0

0

AN: Wow this chapter was hard to write. Not only did things like school get in the way, but I also must have restarted this thing several times from scratch. Well, here it is. Hope the wait was worth it.


	9. Finding Your Way

AN:The usual. Yes, I take forever to type out these things. I don't give up though, if that helps you guys. Also, some slight swearing in this chapter. When tensions run high, censorship fails.

Chapter 9: Finding Your Way

"**So, this is the beginning of the end, isn't it?"**

"**What? You really think that? There is no way that this is the end. We're not strong enough. But it is the beginning of something big. We are only the beginning."**

"**Really? You made it sound like you were planning to rule the world-"**

"**Nonsense! I am fully aware that we are only powerful enough to get the ball rolling. And even then, the real momentum will come after our time is gone. But then... Then everything we do now will shape the future. And that is what we are doing now: setting the others on the right path."**

Mufasa's heart sank at what Mardindale said. "Simba was with me!" he said, looking around frantically, as though he might be able to find his son. "I was with him tonight, but there were a lot of hyenas about, so I took him home..." he paused, trying to remember what had happened, "and then I just... fell unconscious I guess... I sent him home-"

He was quickly cut off by Mardindale. "-Then Simba is most likely there," he said, not wanting to say just yet what he was starting to fear actually happened. "You were knocked unconscious alright" he then explained, "a tranquilizer dart. It makes you fall asleep. I pulled it out of your leg... Speaking of which, how did you not notice getting hit by it?"

Mufasa remembered the sharp sting he felt shortly before starting to feel dizzy. "I did feel it," he admitted, "but I was busy trying to get Simba home... thought it wasn't anything important. Perhaps a bug bite or something..." He slowly got up to his feet, ignoring Mardindale's warnings not to get up so soon, and nearly fell over a few times. "I need to get home!" he said, "I need to know if Simba is safe!"

Mardindale gave up at trying to get Mufasa to even sit down. "Listen, the others need me... walk back slowly, alright? I gave you a stimulant to wake you up when I found you and saw the dart... otherwise you would still be asleep, but you are still unstable."

The lion nodded and began to walk back to Priderock, leaving the human behind. He felt sick and desperately wanted to lie down and sleep, but he had to find out what had happened to his son first. Finally, after what felt like forever, he reached the large outcrop and began the climb up to the den.

Actually getting to the den took more than Mufasa expected, and he was out of breath when he stumbled his way in, but he ignored his discomfort as he looked around for his son. "Simba?" Mufasa asked quietly, trying not to disturb anyone else. After he didn't get a reply, his eyes fell on Sarabi. Maybe Simba was already asleep next to his mother.

Treading carefully through the tangle of limbs of the rest of the pride, Mufasa made his way over to his mate. Seeing that she too was asleep, he didn't wake her right away, instead first looking around her to see if Simba lay where he usually slept.

He wasn't.

"Sarabi?" Mufasa asked, his voice quivering. Where can Simba be? "Sarabi, wake up..."

Slowly, Sarabi stirred before lifting her head up. "What's wrong, Mufasa?" she asked quietly. "It's still dark. Go to sleep..." It took her a few more moments to fully realize why Mufasa woke her up. "What? No, Simba isn't with me," she said, "I thought he was with you." Ignoring her fatigue, she stood up on her legs. "Where is he?" she asked, finally truly realizing that if Mufasa came to her asking about Simba, then their son could be in grave danger.

Mufasa shook his head slowly. "I told him to run to you," he whispered, "there were hyenas, and we had to separate," he didn't want to tell Sarabi about the dart just yet, "I told him to run home. I got here as soon as I can." Quickly, he turned around. "We need to find him!"

Sarabi took her spot next to him and together they quickly made their way out of the den and down to the savanna below, calling out for Simba the entire time. Reaching the ground, Sarabi followed Mufasa as he led her on what he felt would have been the path that Simba would have took. But no matter how loudly they called, nor how far they looked, their son was still missing.

After what felt like an eternity, Mufasa stumbled back to the place where he was certain that he passed out. Where he left Simba. His legs shook at he scanned the savanna again, hope of finding Simba fading fast. Sarabi moved next to him, ready to support him, but Mufasa felt that she too was shaking. Unable to stay standing, Mufasa slowly sank to the ground as he began to realize that Simba was nowhere to be found.

Without even realizing it, Mufasa slowly reached out and wrapped a paw around Sarabi, hugging her tightly. She then pressed her head into his mane, shaking softly as the two of them began to grieve the loss of Simba. But with Sarabi by his side, she was able to offer him just enough comfort that he continued to try and think of ways to try and find their son. The problem is that his mind refused to come up with anything that the two of them hadn't already tired. They already looked everywhere Simba could possibly be.

The two lions were together like this when Evans approached them slowly. Evans looked at the lions nervously waiting until his confidence rose, hating what he was about to say to them.

"Mufasa, Sarabi..."

Mufasa's head sprang to look at the human quickly, as though the lion didn't see Evans arrive. "What?" he growled, not bothering to hide his irritation. The last thing he needed to happen right now was for the humans to get in his way while Simba was missing.

Evans took a step back, afraid of the large creature's hostile tone. At the same time, all it did was strengthen his suspicions. Therefore he took a breath and hoped that he won't get mauled for this. "Mufasa... not to long ago, a group of other humans came in here and captured Seaver. We-" He was cut off by a grunt from Mufasa, who couldn't care less about the humans. Ignoring this, Evans continued on. "Mardindale then mentioned that you got tranquilized," at this, Sarabi gave a confused look at Mufasa, "and also how you asked about Simba... We... We think they might have taken him too... We think they also took Simba."

Mufasa felt both Sarabi and himself tense. "Why?.." was all he managed to breath out.

Evans shook his head. "We don't know." He hated to leave Mufasa and Sarabi alone like this, right after informing them that they would most likely not find Simba. But he turned to leave, but then hesitated. "We're looking around for any clues about what happened and where they could have gone. If you want, you two can help, but I-"

"No. I want to help," Mufasa said loudly, breaking Evans off. "If it means getting Simba back sooner, I'll do it." Evans nodded and walked off, expecting the lions to follow him. Mufasa nuzzled Sarabi briefly ."You go on home. I'll come back to you soon."

He separated from her, but Sarabi didn't get up to go back to the den. "He's my son too, you know," she explained, "I'm going to search as well." He tone made it clear that she wasn't going to be argued with, so Mufasa just nodded and trotted after Evans, Sarabi right behind him.

"If we can find the human's trail, we'll be able to follow it," Mufasa suggested when he got up with the human. "We should be able to catch up to them." It was then that he also realized that Evans looked odd: "What- What happened to your head?" He asked, feeling uneasy.

Evans grunted. "We won't be able to catch up to them, and there's no trail. And as for my head," he tapped his night vision goggles, "it's so that we can see at night, without others seeing us, unlike the flashlights which you are already familiar with."

By this point, Mufasa was far less concerned with how Evans looked like and much more with about what happened to Simba. "But there's always a trail we can follow. How can there not be one?" He looked at Sarabi, one of the best hunters in the pride, who nodded in agreement. There was no way that Simba could disappear without a path to follow.

Evans sighed. "The reason is not up to me to explain to you. It's up to Banks and MacBain. Wait until we reach them before asking that again."

Sarabi frowned. "You know, though," she growled. "You _know_ why, and you refuse to tell us." She was ready to charge at Evans for hiding the answer, and didn't even know what was holding her back.

Her hostility did not go unnoticed by Evans, who simply sighed. "No, I don't really know," he replied, "I can only guess, because much like the two of you, I wasn't told anything before I was sent to find you. Which is why Banks and MacBain will tell you. They know much more."

Sarabi couldn't stop herself from groaning. "Just tell us what you think then!" she shouted. "It's Simba were talking about! We need to know where he is!"

At this, Evans dropped to the ground. "No so fucking loud!" he hissed. Sarabi and Mufasa both looked at him curiously, wondering why he was now on the ground. Glancing around to make sure that there were no intruders on the horizon, he cautiously got up. "Nothing like a lot of noise to give yourself away," he grumbled, "I thought you predators already knew that."

Sarabi shook her head. "There's no one near us. And you still didn't say what you think."

Evans sighed, but this time not with annoyance. "Not humans, we don't have to get close anymore," he muttered, "and if you want to know what I think, let me tell you: Simba is far away. Farther than you can imagine, and getting even farther, moving faster than you ever ran in your life."

Mufasa was stumped. "How?"

Evans let out a slightly smug grin, now that he was no longer the receiving end of anger again. "Now for that, you will need to wait until we get to the rest of us." For the rest of the walk across the night covered savanna, the trio walked in silence. Eventually though, they reached the other humans, who were sitting on a rock and talking.

MacBain saw them approaching and fell silent. He stared at Mufasa and Sarabi, thinking of what to say as they simply stared back. "So, you want to know where he is." It wasn't a question. "The problem is that we don't know ourselves, or even if he's gone at all. But with Seaver getting taken now, and Simba is gone as well, the timing is... quite more than just a coincidence. Nevertheless, the only thing we know is that, if they were taken, that they are long gone by now."

Mufasa was also getting annoyed. He needed answers, and answers now. "How?"

This time, it was Banks who spoke up. "He's flying," he muttered quietly, "taken inside a machine that can fly and sent away. Where? We don't know."

Evans looked back at Mufasa and Sarabi. "Which is why there is no trail to follow. It's somewhere in the air, assuming it's not gone by now. And even if you found it, they are moving so fast, you will never catch up."

Banks felt like he should add his own thoughts. "I only got a brief glimpse of the airplane they used... It's not the biggest nor the fastest, but as far as we are concerned, it's out f reach. And with Seaver and Simba gone, even though I didn't see them inside, I think it's safe to say that they were. Both of tehm are being flown away, and we can't catch then."

Mufasa stumbled back, feeling helpless. He had trouble understanding what he heard. "Flying? But Simba can't _fly_..." Sarabi sat down next to him to supporting him, her eyes closed in pain and loss. "What are were supposed to do? What _can_ we do?"

* * *

Mufasa rubbed his sleep derived eyes the next morning as the Humvee's back door slammed shut next to him. After a long talk, it was decided that the hyena presence was no coincidence with the disappearance of Seaver and Simba, which meant that the only clue they had was to find a hyena and get it to talk.

Then they had to figure out how to do _that_, at which Scar took a rare opportunity to say something and mentioned that hyenas liked to hang out in the Elephant Graveyard. Knowing this, Mufasa convinced the humans to at least take Sarabi with them so that she would also be there when they will find out what the hyenas know.

Sarabi leaned her head out of the open back window, wanting to bid Mufasa goodbye. He quickly reached out and gave her a nuzzle. "Return safe, alright?" he asked her quietly, fighting back a fresh set of tears. "We're going to get Simba back, I promise you."

At this, Mardindale, who was driving, also leaned his head out of a window. "Mufasa, don't worry. We'll find a way to get them back. Both of them." He leaned back in, turned on the engine, and with a final wave to the lion, drove away towards the elephant graveyard.

Mufasa watched the vehicle drive off, feeling alone. What made it even worse was that because of the night, he suddenly felt a lot less trustworthy of the humans. It was one of the reasons why he insisted that Sarabi come with Mardindale and Evans, so that she will tell what happened as well as them.

Zazu landed on his shoulder, breaking Mufasa's thoughts. "Just tell me there's nothing to report," Mufasa begged, only to sigh in defeat when the majordomo shook his head. "Alright, what is it?" Zazu took off, and Mufasa followed.

As they drove, Sarabi now understood why when Simba and Nala got driven, they came back sick to their stomachs. But unlike that time, the drive was fast, and Mardindale wasn't trying to be comfortable. Trying to keep her last meal inside herself, Sarabi looked out the window, hoping it would help, just in time to see the white helicopter fly off somewhere else. She stared at it in disbelief, barely registering what the humans were saying over the radio.

"Banks, if you see anything, don't investigate it. Alert us and fly back pronto."

"_You got it!"_

Sarabi didn't like the sound of that. "What are the chances of him finding anything?" She asked, closing her mouth right afterwards to avoid letting lose her last meal.

Evans turned in his seat to look at her. "To be honest, I think we're simply wasting time looking around here," he admitted, "that helicopter is _fast_. And I trust Banks when he said what they used is even faster, and can go on for longer. So realistically... Our only lead are the hyenas." He turned back to see where they were going.

While the two humans talked to each other, Sarabi remained silent, closing her eyes to cope with the swaying of the vehicle. She only opened her eyes when she felt them stop, discovering that they had stopped right at the boundary with the graveyard. Despite her dizziness, she was impressed at the speed at which they had arrived. "It... It'll be best if we go on foot from here," she said, doubtful that the huge thing they were in would make it's way through the maze of bones, "but stay on your guard."

Evans looked at the graveyard in thought. "I have a better idea," he said, "you drive," he told Mardindale, "and I tell you where." He turned to Sarabi. "They can't see you through this window. In fact, if they never saw this thing before, they will think that it's just me here." Standing up, Evans propped the roof hatch open to where he could see better. "Yeah, it's very passable," he called down, "just drive carefully and we won't get stuck."

Carefully, Mardindale pressed the Humvee forwards under Evan's careful directions. For a while, he thought that the graveyard, while quite creepy, was very empty. However, as they drove on, pairs of eyes would emerge out of dark holes and bony caves as curious and alert hyenas gather around the intruding vehicle. While there were oaths for them to follow, Mardindale had to stop when he found the path blocked by a gang of hyenas. As he waited for Evans to tell him what to do, he recalled reading somewhere that hyenas were much closely related to weasels, so comparing them to dogs would be quite wrong.

Standing through the hatch, Evans saw the path blocked off. Of course, the hyenas would present no problem in stopping a Humvee, but if they were to talk, running over them would be a bad idea. Knowing that Mardindale won't move without any good reason, he popped his head back in. "Hey, Sarabi, need some help here. What do I need to say to get them to talk?"

Sarabi, who was grateful for the rest she got with the vehicle not moving, looked up at Evans. "Ask for their matriarch," she answered. "And make sure they _talk_!" She added, her tone cold and threatening.

Evans nodded and popped his head back above. He looked at the hyenas, thinking of what to say. Deciding to say as little as possible, he called out loudly, "I came here to talk with your matriarch." He smirked slightly as the hyenas looked at each other, clearly not expecting this.

From a large pile of bones, one hyena made its way forward. "I'm here. What do you want?" it asked, its voice clearly female.

Evans grinned. This part he was prepared for. "Last night there was a problem," he said, "I got into a bit of trouble with some fellow humans. Now I want to find them, but they chose to leave without leaving an invitation to their destination," he paused slightly, "I have very strong evidence telling me that you are likely to be acquaintances with those guys. I want to know what _you_ know. So do tell, will you?"

The hyena snorted in his direction. "You think you can waltz into our home and demand things from us? Fat chance, human! So better get out now before I order a swift and painful execution one intruding monkey."

Evans was not fazed by the threat. "One moment, please," he said, and popped back into the Humvee. A bit of time later, he popped back out, a machine gun in his hands. "Now, where was I? Oh, right..." He loaded the gun and pointed it in the general direction of the hyenas. "Now, I'm sorry, did I give the impression I was asking?" In his head, he was finding it amusing that he was using lines from popular movies. But what really caught his attention was the sudden alertness that the hyenas eyed the gun. Unlike the Pride landers, who react like guns were simply overly elaborate clubs they carried around, these hyenas seemed to fear the weapon as it pointed at them. "Ah, so you have talked with people before, have you?"

The hyena called his bluff. "And what makes you say that?"

"This." Evans lowered the gun at a hyena, which cowered down to the ground. "I don't think I need to demonstrate the power of this thing," he said, "because you already know it. And the only way to know what it can do is to see it with your own eyes. And for _that_, you need humans around." He grinned. "So, which shall it be? I find out what I want, or this place will start getting more than just elephant bones. And I'm talking about my own, either. I came here to talk, but I can get nasty. It's your call."

They hyena visibly cringed. "They said that they can help us!" She cried out. "They found us and said that if we cooperate, they will help us!"

"Help you with what?"

"With taking over the Pridelands! Those _lions_... We hate them! But on our own, we can't take over! But when those humans came, we started fighting them like any other intruders, but hey just started _murdering_ us with those things..." she pointed at the gun, "finally they allowed us to talk, and we made a deal..." She fell silent, not saying anything else.

Evans was glad that they were talking, but he needed more. "What kind of deal?"

The hyena hesitated. "...Kidnapping. We needed to get an important lion alone at night, then we tell them that we have a lion alone, so they can come in. Then they grab the lion, and then also one of..." she narrowed her eyes, "one of _you_!" At this, the other hyenas started to growl menacingly. "Good thing for us that we managed to get the cub, Mufasa will do _anything_ to get him back," the hyena continued talking, "but you humans don't own the Pridelands, so what happens to you, we don't care. In fact, it would be better off to kill you right now."

Evans shrugged. "You sure that's a good idea?" He moved his gun a little to make the point. "Now let me say a few things. Those humans who you're working for, they don't care about you. They're using you for their own gains, but as soon as you will need their help, I guarantee you that they won't come." He motioned around at the other hyenas. "Ever stopped to think why they needed you? Why they only acted at night? It's because you hyenas are strong, but because they are weak. They're desperate, and are eager and willing to stomp on anyone they can convince to help them." He raised the gun barrel away from the hyenas to calm them down. "So you tell me where those humans came from and where they went, and I will leave you alone." He paused slightly, and figuring that Sarabi will forgive him, he added, "and maybe later on, I can have a chat with that Mufasa... I can ask him to reconsider his position on allowing you into the Pride lands. But I will only do that if you tell me what I want."

The hyena visibly went over the proposition in her head. "North," she finally said. "They went North. The same direction they always came from."

"How far?"

"I don't know! They appear and disappear at will! If I didn't know any better, I would say that they can turn invisible, because we never saw where they went, even if we looked for tracks. We would fine some tracks, but they will just end before we would get to the nearest river..."

Evans nodded. A direction was very helpful, even if it wasn't much. "Good, thank you," he said, "now as I promised, I will leave you in peace. So if you clear away from behind me, I will be also gone just like that." Without another word, he dropped back into the Humvee, closing the hatch above just in case.

As he lowered his head down, he came face to muzzle with Sarabi's furious face. "You wouldn't dare allow them into our lands!" She hissed.

Evans shrugged. "Looks, it got what we came here for. You want Simba back or not? I told them what they wanted to hear, and they talked. Besides, I never _promised_ anything." That seemed to shut Sarabi up, who shrank back to the back seat.

Moving over to the passenger seat, Evans had only one question left. "Hey, Mardy... What's up north?"

* * *

A/N: Yes! Finally finished. As I said, I had a catalyst to help me out with writing quicker, so most of what you read was done in the past week, even less. Yeah...

I know that there was no Simba in this story, and I planned it this way: to alternate what is happening to Seaver and Simba and what the rest in the Pride Lands are doing to try and get them back. This might make the chapters shorter, and might mess with the pacing, but I can't figure out a way to coherently combine the two scenarios into the same chapters.


	10. New Surroundings

A/N: Good news: I am able to get the chapter done. Bad news: it took me ages again. Yeah, alright, I take forever to write my chapters, but I don;t give up on the story. So even though this is now two years old, it's not finished yet, and I am not giving up on it.

Chapter 10: New Surroundings

"**You know, this business of kidnapping a cub... It's a bit mental, isn't it?"**

"**Perhaps. But as long as it will keep the guerrilla off our backs, I am satisfied. Look, I don't want to do this as much as you do, but we have to. We have too, because what we want to accomplish is worth more than any one life."**

"**Even that of a lion's? One who sole sin is that they lived in an area we are involved in? Look, I just don't see the reason why we needed to take this step. There are people out there who want us dead, I know that. But why can't we stick to fighting _them_?"**

"**You know why. Because if we fight back, we will be stopped right away. We're not strong enough yet. We need time to build up, get strength, respect, ability. And unfortunately, we are running out of time. And sometimes-"**

"**Sometimes you have to do what others will not consider."**

"**Exactly."**

"**I just hope that in the end... It will all be worth it."**

Ever so slowly, Simba began to regain consciousness. For a while, he would slip in and out, but eventually, he began to wake up proper... And immediately wished that he was still asleep. A pounding headache meant that his skull felt like it was too small for his head, which combined with how sick he was feeling, meant that was soon as he found his voice, Simba groaned quietly, trying to remove his discomfort. To top it off, he felt colder than ever before.

"Simba? You're awake? How are you feeling?"

Simba's ears flattened from Seaver's question. Even though it was only a whisper, to Simba, it sounded like the human screamed as loudly as he can. Groaning slightly, Simba slowly opened his eyes, trying to see through the gloomy darkness that he found himself in. "...Yeah... I'm fine..." he finally managed to whisper quietly as he slowly found his voice, "What happened?" He looked around, trying to figure out where they were. Looking around, Simba saw that they were somewhere dark and enclosed, like a cave, but where everything was flat. "Where are we?" he finally asked, dreading the answer.

The last thing Simba had remembered was doing like Mufasa had told him: running as fast as he could back home. But he never remembered arriving to the den. Because the very next thing he could recall was now: waking up here with a headache, lost, cold, and confused.

"I don't know where we are," Seaver finally replied back quietly, clearly agitated at giving such an answer.

He didn't mention that he knew that wherever they were, it was far from the Pride Lands. After the plane they were in landed, they were taken in a truck on a long and windy drive, finally stopping somewhere. Seaver was then forced to walk, carrying Simba with him, and there he was able to look around at where they were brought. Wherever they were, they were in some mountain very high up. What worried him the most was the fact that he was able to see patches of snow here and there as he was lead towards what looked like some sort of industrial complex. He feared that they weren't in Africa anymore.

Seaver heard Simba move about, looking around the dark room they were placed in. Feeling cold as well, Seaver chose to huddle up and warm himself up as much as he can without moving, not knowing yet if he should conserve his energy or not. Listening to Simba crawl around the cold concrete, Seaver knew one thing: no matter what happened to him, he _had_ to get Simba back home. Somehow, he knowledge that even now, captured by people he doesn't know and taken to where he doesn't know, but knowing what he wanted to do, somehow Seaver felt a slight bit of comfort come from that realization. In the cold darkness, Seaver grinned slightly. Whatever the reason he and Simba were taken here, as long as Simba is not back home yet, Seaver had something to concentrate on.

Simba shivered again as he once again crawled into a dark wall. No matter where he tried going, it was always a dead end. Not knowing what else to do, he crawled back to Seaver and curled up tightly against the human's leg. Seaver was nowhere near as comfortable or as warm as Mufasa and Sarabi, but Simba was too cold to care. He closed his eyes, wanting to get some sleep, and hoping that he can get his mind away from the loneliness, fear, and pain. But as soon as he tried to relax, an image of Nala sprang to his mind and he sniffed loudly, feeling overwhelmed with home sickness.

It wasn't that he already missed Nala, for he saw her only... Simba assumed it was only a short while ago. But unlike all the previous times when he knew that she had to do something with Sarafina, or he had to go off with Mufasa, they would at least know not to expect one another and would look forward to when they can get back together. But now, even the brief though of her was nearly unbearable, because Simba did not know when he will see Nala again, and worse, he did not know if he will even see her ever again at all.

"Simba? Are you alright? Scared?"

Simba sniffed again, but shook his head. "No!" he croaked out defiantly, not wanting to appear weak to Seaver, even now. His reply got a little chuckle- from Seaver, who somehow found it amusing.

"It's okay to be afraid at times like this," Seaver said, "no one-"

"But I'm not scared!" Simba repeated. "I'm not!" He sniffed again, feeling terrible. "It's just that I... I want to go home..." He shivered again, and pressed himself harder against Seaver's not warm-enough leg.

Seaver fell quiet, not knowing what to say. Feeling Simba press himself hard against him, Seaver reached over and picked Simba up, admiring how muscular and heavy the cub was, easily putting house cats to shame. He set Simba down on his lap and hugged him gently, feeling as Simba's shivers slowly died down. "I'm going to get you home," Seaver said quietly, "if it's the last thing I'll do, I'm going to get you home." Somehow.

Simba felt warmer now that he was in Seaver's arms, and rested his head on the human. Somehow, he felt comforted by Seaver's promise, and was able to slowly slip into an uneasy sleep. "What's going to happen to us?" he whispered quietly as he started to give into his drowsiness.

Seaver looked around the dark room they were in. "I don't know," he whispered back, and tried to think of something that he can say that won't scare Simba too much. But before he can think of it, he noticed that, based on Simba's steady and quite breathing compared to the previous sniffling, that the cub fell asleep. Leaning his head against a cold and uncomfortable corner, Seaver also closed his eyes and tried to allow himself to try and get some rest as well.

* * *

**CLANK!**

A loud metallic crash jolted Seaver awake, causing him to accidentally let go of Simba and drop the cub to the floor in shock. Blinking, he looked around the room they were in, noticing everything now that it was lit by what looked like an early morning light. His eyes quickly fell on a metal door located at the far wall, especially when more noise emanated from behind it, as though someone or something was behind it. Seaver looked down at Simba, who was now groaning and slowly pushing himself up to his feet. "Simba, are you alright?" Seaver asked quietly, wanting to make sure that he didn't accidentally cause any pain from dropping him.

Simba shook his head. "Yeah, I'm... I'm alright," he replied, "just very cold." By now, he felt much better than before, as most of his headache was gone, but he was already shivering again from the cold.

Seaver picked Simba up and hugged him again, hoping that he will be enough to warm the cub up. "Sounds like someone's close," he whispered quietly, "if you see anyone who's not me, don't make a sound, and don't talk to them." He got a confused look from the cub.

"Why not?" Simba asked.

Seaver shook his head. "Hard to explain. Just... don't say anything, alright?" He waited until Simba nodded to know that the lion understood. "If I will find out how to explain it to you, I will. But for now, just do as I say. It's the easiest." Sure, Simba nodded as though he understood, but Seaver doubted that he was convincing. "I just don't want you to get hurt," he added, "so please, until we get back home, do as I say.

At that moment, almost as if on cue, the door opened, revealing three humans standing on the other side. "Both of you, come." One of them said simply, motioning for Seaver and Simba to get up. With a nasty looking gun.

Not seeing much of a choice, Seaver got up, and with Simba following close behind him, they were herded off through a series of metallic corridors and up a few flights of stairs. As they walked, Seaver tried to memorize the layout of the complex they were in, looking as though it was some sort of industrial plant. Judging from all the pipes, he figured that they were in some sort of refinery. But why in the mountains?

Simba on the other hand, despite being in unfamiliar territory and surrounded by non-friendly looking strangers, still managed to find his sense of curiosity greater than his fear. Growing up in the open savanna, he looked around in wonder at the enclosed space they were in, which reminded him a lot of the den back at Pride Rock, but at the same time, not at all. While the den was a rough rocky and uneven surface, this place was flat everywhere, like the surface of the waterhole. And more like water, the few places where the walls were not covered in dust dirt, or a strange red substance, Simba swore that he could almost see his own reflection. Already, he wanted to ask Seaver about everything he saw, but remembering the human's warning, he remained silent.

As they came across the first flight of stairs – metallic planks held up by a few rails, Simba stopped, slightly afraid to step on. Being able to see though the gaps in the stairs, he didn't know how strong the stairs were, and was afraid to step on only to fall off. But before he found the courage to start climbing, Simba got shoved forwards by one of the other humans, and had to walk forwards, his legs shaking as he tried not to look at the ground as it moved farther and further away from him. The only thing that kept him going was the knowledge that Seaver was right next to him, and was not looking afraid.

Almost as soon as it started, the stairs merged into the floor above them, and Simba found himself on solid ground again, but not understanding how. He wanted to stop and figure out where he was and how he got here, but he wasn't allowed to, once gain being nudged to keep going and following the humans.

Seaver and Simba were finally lead to what looked like some kind of control room for the facility, where they were ushered inside and the door closed behind them, no doubt their escorts guarding the door. Seaver looked down at Simba to make sure that the cub was alright before examining the room. Computers and other equipment lined the walls, short of one window overlooking the terrain outside.

In the center of the room rested what looked like the mainframe, behind which sat one new human, who was busy working behind it, apparently not noticing that there were others in the room with him. Seaver tensed when he saw this human, figuring that whoever he was, this person looked like they might be important.

Eventually, this human looked up from his work, and leaned back. "Well don't just stand around here, sit down and make yourselves comfortable," he said, sounding cheerful. Seaver didn't budge, and Simba followed suit, choosing to do as Seaver did. The human sighed when they didn't move. "Sit!" he repeated, now sounding impatient.

Not seeing much else of a choice, Seaver pulled out a chair and sat down on it, hiding Simba behind him. He stared back at the other human, not saying anything as he waited for something to happen. While he didn't feel like they were in any immediate danger, Seaver didn't want to do or say anything that might change that situation.

The other human stared back for a while before letting out a sigh. "So..." he said eventually, "I know that you must be wondering why you are here..." He paused for a little while, as though waiting for Seaver the opportunity to ask himself the question again. "As you might have guessed, you are not here for any good reasons. In fact, if I may describe them as such, the reasons are, for a lack of a better term, delicate..." He got up and walked over to Seaver and Simba, smiling slightly at the cub before leaning close to Seaver. "You don't need to know my name, but you do need to know this: you help me out, and I can grantee that both of you return home safely. So, what do you say?"

As much as Seaver wanted to tell Simba not to worry, he forced himself to stare back at the human, not saying a word.

The human straightened up again, looking disappointed. "That's how it is then, is it?" he asked, and moved over to the door, opening it and revealing the guards outside. "Take them back," he ordered quietly, "I'll deal with them later."

* * *

Simba stared at the wall of the room, not knowing if he should be feeling bored or scared. Every now and then, he would still shiver from the cold, but for the most part, it was at least warm enough that he could try and ignore his discomfort. Deciding he waited long enough, he turned back to Seaver, who was sitting still in a corner, and asked him what he wanted to for a long time already, ever since they were brought back here. "Why didn't you say anything?" Simba demanded.

Seaver looked up, startled by the sudden noise. "What?" he asked instinctively as he tried to regain his composure.

Simba sighed in annoyance, not feeling in the mood to be patient. Not when he was alone with Seaver who knows where. "With that other human," he explained, "he said he can help us! That he can have us come home, as long as we help him. Why didn't you say anything? If you did, we could have-"

"He was lying," Seaver said, cutting Simba off. "He doesn't want to help us. If anything, I can assure you that it is _him_ who is responsible for the two of us being here. And there is a reason why we're here. I don't know why, but I know that in order to capture not only me, but you as well, it required lots of planning, watching us, lots of hard work. Believe me, Simba, that when I say that the reason that we are here, it's not that because someone simply... simply _wants_ us to be here. They went out of their way to make sure that we got here, and they will do whatever they can to keep us here. So no matter what he said, Simba, we are not going to get a ride back home."

Simba, who had shrank back from Seaver's outburst, found the courage to look up again. "But then why are we here?" he asked, "if no one wants us here, why are we... wherever here even is?" He lay down on the cold floor, curling up to try and stay warm as the cold metal sapped his heat. "And I thought that you, back home, you were looking for something. And now you just said that they had to watch _us._ How?" He thought back to the night he last remembered, where his night time adventure with Mufasa turned into one of the scariest chases for his life. "There were so many hyenas..." he whispered. "Do you think dad's alright? When he had me run home, he just fell over. And now, if he's alive still, what will he think when he won't find me? He-" Simba closed his eyes as he began to panic, overwhelmed with feelings of dread and loss. "I don't know what to do," he chocked out, trying to word what he was feeling, "I don't know what to do."

Seaver once again reached out and pulled Simba into an embrace. "Hey, it's alright," he said, trying to calm Simba down. "I... I was able to see Mufasa before I found you, although I couldn't help him. Your dad's alright," Seaver grinned slightly, trying to reassure Simba. "He was tranquilized. We humans use these weapons to force animals to sleep, as a sort of protection. Actually, when we came to the savanna, we also got tranquilizers, should we get into trouble with something like you lions. It doesn't kill the animal when it gets shot, just puts it to sleep, so yeah, Mufasa is alright." Seaver fell quiet, thinking of the other things Simba said. "I don't understand though, that all this time we were looking for other people. Found plenty of signs that there were people, but we never actually saw them. And when they finally show up, it was during the night with no warning. I don't see how they knew what t do before hand so well..."

As Simba leaned his head on Seaver's body, Seaver once again began planning out what to do here. "There is so much we don't know," he told Simba, "but right now, we don't have to worry about it... what we need to do is plan out next moves." He looked down at Simba to make sure that the lion was listening. "Right now, we need to find a way to get back home." He spoke quietly, to make sure that no one who might be listening in would hear them. "Or rather, we need to find a way to get out of here, and once we escape, find a way back home. Now the people here, no matter what they say, they will _not_ help us. This is very important for you to understand."

Simba was confused. "Why?"

Seaver shook his head. "I think they will act like they want to help us, to get us to lower our guard. They might ask us questions, get us to talk. It's how your mind works in captivity, Simba. Right now, with us together, it's much easier, but if we are to be separated, it will get much harder. First you will start getting lonely, then confused. Then you can no longer think straight, and you become very easy to control... You lose your mind, basically. You might start seeing things, hearing things. You want to avoid being alone for along time as much as you can. So we need to make sure that no matter what happens, we need to stay together. Alright?"

Simba nodded slightly, somewhat scared of Seaver's description of being alone. "Yeah, alright," he replied.

Seaver smiled slightly. "I'm going to need you to trust me with your life for now, Simba" he said, "when I tell you to do something, I want, no... I need you to do it. No hesitating, no questions. If it's the last thing you remember, just do as I say, it's very important that you understand."

Looking up at Seaver, Simba nodded again. "But what will you do?" he asked. "If I do what you tell me to do, how you you know what to do?"

Seaver let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I don't know, that's the problem," he said, "but while I'll be figuring that out, you do as I say. Because while I don't know yet how, I do know what I want to do: and that's to get the two of us home. You get it Simba? I'm going to get you home."

Simba nodded again before huddling against Seaver. He closed his eyes, imagining himself running around in the open savanna, chasing after Nala or Zazu. Flashes of the Pride Lands played around in his head as he once again started to feel drowsy. Simba imagined running over to Mufasa, looking as fine as ever, only to get an angry glare from his father.

"_Where have you been, Simba?" Mufasa was asking. "Why didn't you run home like I told you to? Go inside now! Your mother and I need to discuss this together before we deal with you!"_

_Simba looked at the ground, feeling ashamed. "But I tried, dad. I ran home. The- there were too many hyenas. They forced me away."_

"_And you didn't think of calling for help? You cant keep doing things like this Simba. You never pay attention to either me or Sarabi."_

"_What? No, dad! I listen to you all the time!"_

"_If you did, you wouldn't have gotten into trouble, Simba. Now go inside!"_

"_Dad, please!"_

"_Now!"_

Simba opened his eyes quickly, cringing in fright before realizing that he was still resting against Seaver, alone with him in the odd den they were kept in. Seaver seemed to have noticed that something was wrong and was looking down at him with concern.

Slowing his breathing to a more calm level, Simba tried to relax. "I... just a nightmare, that's all," he explained, realizing that he must have fallen asleep. "Dad was yelling at me for not running home as he told me to... for not listening to him."

Seaver gently nudged Simba. "Mufasa would never do that," he said, not really knowing if it was true or not, but refusing to think if it might, "you're just scared, and your mind's acting on it. It's alright, I'm scared too. Just try to relax and clear your mind. These first few days, I don't know how long we're going to be here, but it might be a long time... it's going to be hard, really hard. But the two of us, we're going to get through this. We're going to come back to the Pride Lands."

Simba nodded. "Together?" He asked.

Seaver grinned. "You and me, Simba. We're going to get back to the Pride Lands, where Mufasa will be waiting, and I know that he will be glad to see you."


	11. Into the Lion's Den

**Chapter 11: Into the Lion's Den**

"**Take a few men, and make sure that there is nothing left that can be used to find out where we are."**

"**But they already searched that place already... Surely if they would have already sent someone if they knew where we were. It's a bit risky to send anyone to that area now, now after we, uh, took one of them. Plus the animals, I don't think they will be too happy to see us either. And we will lose all surprise if we will have to shoot our way in."**

"**So what do you suggest we do then? I am only covering our backs. I would much rather risk a handful of my men then to risk the whole operation... no, everything we ever worked for. We came to far to just stop now... or to have it be stopped for us."**

"**So when we are completely certain that the breach is actually safe..."**

"**Just gt out as fast as you can."**

"**But what if it will come to a fight? There's what? Four of them? Three?"**

"**No, we can't kill them. They die, someone else will come. A bigger force, more trouble. You can't attract any attention to yourselves. Try not to attract any attention, alright?"**

"**I'll see what I can do."**

Mufasa sat in front of the den, surrounded by his fellow pride members, trying to calm them down. Since the nighttime attack, the pride was split with what to do with the humans, and plenty were calling for either exile or death. To him, it seemed like only he and Sarabi were the only ones who were not out for blood. The tensions got so high that he called for an evening meeting, hoping to calm the pride down.

It didn't work, and now, well into the night, Mufasa was still surrounded by an angry pride, feeling lonelier than ever.

Even Sarafina was angry at him. "The humans, they all need to be exiled! They and the rest of their species! If it wasn't for them, Simba wouldn't be missing. And what about Nala? What if they decide to take her too?" Even though she had Nala stay in the den without telling her what had happened, it was only a matter of time before her daughter would find out. "We should have exiled them a long time ago!"

Mufasa let out a low growl. "That's enough, Sarafina!" He hated having to use authority to silence his pride members, but he didn't want this meeting to collapse into anarchy either. "We already spoke to the hyenas, and-"

"Why did you talk to _them_? Are you out of your mind?"

"_Thank you,_ Zira!" Mufasa glared at her until she backed down. Unfortunately, this meant that all his attention was directed to her, and not spread out over the others.

"And what are you going to do anyways?" It was Sarafina again. If it wasn't for the fact that the lioness was friends with Sarabi, Mufasa would have ordered her to leave the meeting by now, especially as it seemed like the lioness waited especially for him to turn his attention to her before speaking again. "Who are you going to allow to be taken next? One of us? Nala? Who else needs to disappear in the middle of the night before you figure out that humans don't belong here?"

"That's enough, Sarafina!" Mufasa let out a warning growl to quite everyone and make sure that no one else dared to speak up. "If you can't control your temper, walk away right now. And that applies to all of you as well." He eyed each lion and lioness in tern, making sure that they understood that thoughtless anger would not be tolerated. One everyone quieted down enough, he let out an irritated sigh. "Now, as I was saying, Sarabi talked to the hyenas. From what I understand, they were used by the other humans to help infiltrate us. And Simba... he was always a target. So where the Pride Lands. Don't you understand? What we're dealing with, it's more than just... more than just them. Our home was in danger, and it was before. Which is why I am against both exile and death. If we kill the humans who can actually help us, even if we exile them, we will only make it easier for the humans who want the Pride Lands to take over. We can't exile them even if we wanted to... as much as I hate to say it, but we need them now. If only to get Simba back..."

The pride stared back at him after he finished talking, no one daring to say anything yet. Eventually, Sarafina broke the silence. "Then what are we supposed to do?"

Mufasa just shook his head. "I don't know." He felt ashamed to admit this. Ashamed that he didn't know how to calm his pride down, and ashamed for letting Simba down. By not knowing what to do now, he felt as though he not only failed as a king, but also as a father.

Out of everyone here, the last one Mufasa expected to speak up was Zazu. "Sire, I have a suggestion-"

Mufasa looked at his majordomo in surprise. "Zazu? Err, yeah, go right ahead..."

Zazu gulped before proceeding. "Well, I know this won't be a very popular idea, but then, I don't think I ever came up with a popular idea," he chuckled slightly after his own joke, but quickly stopped when no one else joined in. "So anyways, my idea. Sire, what if we ask one of the humans to explain-?"

Immediately, the area was filled with an uproar as every single pride member started voicing their objections. It took Mufasa a few moments before he was able to quiet them down again.

Zazu shuffled his wings in an undignified fashion before talking again. "So as I said – let one of them explain what they are planning to do. Because the last time I talked to them, well, they didn't know what to do either. But I think they mentioned some kind of plan, which, as much as I hate to say, is more than we have now."

Mufasa nodded slowly. "Thank you, Zazu." He waited for a while, letting his majordomo's words sink in. As much as he hated to admit it, Zazu was right in that it seemed like the humans had more in terms of a plan than him. It was them who went out to the elephant graveyard and got the hyenas to talk. And if he wasn't mistaken, for the past few mornings, he still woke up to the uncanny sight of the helicopter flying either off into the distance, or returning from a nighttime flight. As often as he had wondered how the large thing had gotten to the Pride Lands in the first place, and seemed to move around time after time during the night, Mufasa understood why they never told him the reason: he would't have been able to comprehend how something so large would lift itself off the ground...

Noticing that his mind was wondering, Mufasa one again scanned through his pride, wanting to make sure that he didn't miss anyone who might want to voice their opinion. Finally, his gaze fell on one member who remained unnaturally quite through the whole deal. "Scar, do you have anything to add? Simba's your nephew, you know."

His brother simply shrugged. "Yeah, I know that. I also know that you are dealing with something way over your head. Do I have something to add, dear brother? Yes I do. Simba's taken away. He's _gone_. Get over it." With that, Scar got up and walked away, leaving a stunned Mufasa behind.

Eventually, Mufasa found his voice again. "I don't know about all of you, but unlike Scar, I still believe that we'll see Simba again," as he spoke, he made sure to sound confident and steady, to contrast himself with Scar's rather confident defeatism. "So Zazu, if you may, go find one of the humans. We need to hear what they have to say about all of this." He watched as the blue bird gave him a quick bow before flying off into the darkness. Turning his gaze back to the pride, he saw that some of them did not look too happy with this idea. "If any of you think that you will not be able to restrain yourselves... go inside now. I will not have fighting tonight, not that which I can prevent."

When he fell quiet again, a few lionesses got up and walked back inside the den, except for Zira, who instead walked off in the same direction as Scar. But one lioness caught Mufasa's attention out of all of them: He opened his mouth to try and call Sarafina to return, but stopped himself. If she felt like she won't be able to control herself, it might be better for her to go. Mufasa slowly looked at Sarabi, who looked hurt to see her friend disappear into the den. Once again, he felt like it might be a good idea to call Sarafina back, but he decided that he will simply talk to her after this is over.

As he waited for Zazu to return, Mufasa didn't say anything, choosing instead to think to himself in silence. In his mind, Scar's words still haunted him. Was Simba really gone? As much as he wanted to believe that he will see his son again, the fact that he didn't know when or how made Mufasa extremely uneasy, and he struggled to keep his composure in front of those in the pride that chose to remain.

Some movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention, and Mufasa turned to look at what it was, grateful for something to take his mind of his worries. To his surprise, it was Sarafina returning from the den, looking ashamed. He didn't say anything as Sarafina walked quietly to Sarabi's side and sat down next to her friend. Mufasa gave her a slight nod of acknowledgment, but Sarabi gave Sarafina a grateful smile, clearly eager to have her friend by her side again.

Compared to just recently, Mufasa was relieved to see Sarafina much calmer now. He waited a bit more for anyone else to show up again, but it didn't look like anyone else would return to the circle. When he felt that the silence was starting to create awkwardness, Mufasa decided that he waited quietly long enough.

"While we're waiting for Zazu to return, I just want to say, that... I don't think it's the humans or us. When Simba got taken... it wasn't humans that I saw. It was hyenas. More than I ever recalled seeing in my life had entered the Pride Lands. I have no doubt that they organized to get at me, and to get Simba. The hyenas... they were working with humans. So our problems and Bain's problems... I can't just banish them, because our problems are linked together." His voice took on a determined tone. "And even if they were not connected, I won't banish them. Because they are still my problems as well. And whether I will have to solve them here, or go to where I've never been to before, I know one thing: I'm not running. I will go to wherever I will need to be to see Simba home again."

He took a few breaths to calm himself down again. "I'm not asking any of you to do anything. But as long as we live here in the Pride Lands, and someone wants to do something to them, I fear that we are all in danger, and that we need to prepare for the unknown." It didn't look like what he said had any effect over those who remained with him. "As for what we need to do... I don't know." He hung his head lower.

"I just want to get Simba back!" Mufasa himself didn't know if he wanted some sort of response, but his impatience got the best of him, leading to this short outburst. He was about to shout some more, but he caught himself and forced himself to quiet down. "And whatever it will take to get him back, I'll do it."

Next to him, Sarabi placed a paw on his. "I'll do it too. If Simba's still alive, I'll do anything I can to get him back." She nuzzled Mufasa lightly and he smiled at her warmly in return.

At that moment, Zazu flew over and laded next to Mufasa. The lion was about to ask if any humans were coming when he heard MacBain and Banks making their way up Pride Rock, arguing rather loudly. Shaking his head in amusement, Mufasa prepared himself to meet the humans. MacBain and Banks emerged from the side of Pride Rock, both heaving something over their heads, covering their eyes, and just the way they looked, Mufasa became slightly unnerved at their sight.

Both parties stared at each other, waiting for someone to speak up. It was Mufasa who broke the silence, going straight to the point. "I think it will be more beneficial for all of us if we cooperated. I know that after the night attack we have been... less than gracious to one another, but if we can change that to the way things were before, we can work together and get Simba back... and Seaver."

Right away, the lionesses around him started to object again, and even Banks looked like he didn't agree with the idea. Having had enough of their complaints, Mufasa was about to suggest that the humans leave before a fight would break out.

But MacBain raised his hands to quiet everyone down. "Mufasa's right. If we don't cooperate, then both Seaver and Simba are as good as dead. We have to set our differences aside if either of them will see this place again."

Banks shook his head. "With all do respect, you didn't nearly become a next meal when you had to tell about the attack. They're lions, we're humans... Even if we wanted to, I don't think we'll be able to cooperate well enough for the effort to pay off. The lionesses are right: it might be better if we stick to ourselves for now."

Mufasa frowned, not liking how he found himself outnumbered and against the common will. He just _knew_ that cooperating was the only way to get Simba back, but he didn't know how to convince the others that...

To his surprise, it was MacBain who did that.

"Mufasa's right. We need to work together, as much as we might hate it." He could tell that the others had a hard time agreeing with him and Mufasa. "Look, I know you think we can all go on our ways and leave each other alone, but I can tell you that..." He stopped talking as he started to calculate something in his head.

Sarabi looked at him curiously. "Tell us what?"

MacBain shook his head. "It's been so long ago, I don't remember the details that well. And also, because it's so long ago, I don't think you will believe me. But I think I will be able to show you. "

"How?"

"Inside your den. We hid some things in the den that time. And if I am not mistaken, there shouldn't be a reason why those things won't still be in there."

Mufasa frowned. "I don't want to be rude, but you have to be mistaken. Just about all of us have lived most or all of our lives in that den. There's nothing in there out of the ordinary. And we've looked at every corner and rock. I know all of the hiding places in there, and I never came across anything unusual."

MacBain looked at the entrance of the den. "You mean it's gone now? Are you sure you checked everything? It's was rather well hidden..."

Mufasa nodded. "I'm certain." His gaze traveled over to Banks, who looked rather lost.

Banks noticed the lion's gaze reach him. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't know anything about it."

MacBain looked like he was about to suggest something else, but then got an idea. "Do you mind if I take a look? I can try and describe the location for you... It was behind a large rock, but you have to move the rock to get to it. So I still think that it's likely that you never came across the objects."

Mufasa didn't like the sound of letting the humans into the den. Nala was in there, as well as most of the pride, most likely asleep by now. But at the same time, his constant want to help Simba told him that it might be a good idea to allow MacBain to convince the pride to cooperate. He tries not to look at the lionesses who will almost certainly object right now. "If you make it quick, I think I can let you in. But if what you're looking for is not there, you will leave imminently!" Turning to Sarabi and Sarafina, he whispered something to them so that the humans won't hear.

MacBain nodded. "Of course." He motioned for Banks to follow him. "I am certain they're still in there. The rock that you have to move is really heavy. So actually, I might be needing your help."

Banks sighed. "As long as you know what you're doing, I think I can trust you sir." He followed MacBain into the dark den, replacing his night vision, which didn't work in the cave, with a flashlight. His small circle of light danced around the den as Banks explored the cave, fully aware that, despite all his time in the Pride Lands, this was the first time he actually went inside this place. His breath caught as his light revealed a number of sleeping lions. If they were to make a sudden noise, even if he doubted it in his mind, he still couldn't help but feel like he could very well end up being the next meal.

As MacBain proceeded to explore a wall in the den, Banks thumbed his pistol holster nervously. He didn't like being in here one bit, realizing that he would much rather be getting shot at by small arms and RPS but in command of a helicopter rather than waiting for a lion to wake up and attack him. Even though he saw that Mufasa was with them, and if he wasn't mistaken, but it looked like Sarafina was escorting him, his hands still started to shake slightly as his fear grew.

MacBain felt around the den's wall before he found what he was looking for. Grinning, he gripped the edges of the rock he felt. Memories flooded over him as he felt the rock again, of the last time he was here, many years ago. "Hello again. It's been a long time. Franky, you better have not lied to me this time, because I need you to be honest now. Don't disappoint me..." He pulled on the rock, grunting in the effort, but the rock refused to move. "Banks, over here."

Banks nearly jumped when he heard MacBain talk to him, but quick;y regained his composure. "Alright, I'm coming." He carefully moved to MacBain and quickly found the rock he was supposed to move, preparing to move it.

"While I trust Mufasa, I don't trust you two. If you tear this place apart, I'm warning you. I don't know what I'll do."

Banks sighed. "Thank you, Sarafina. I'll... I'll keep that in mind." He ignored her chuckling at his very clear fear as he readied himself to move the rock. "Alright sir, when you're ready..."

At MacBain's mark, the two of them pulled on the rock, and with some effort, pushed it aside against the wall. With the rock safely off to the side, MacBain hone a light into the small cavern that they exposed. "And after decades of waiting..." he moved the beam of light around, before spotting something and grinning widely, "it's still here, just as I remembered it..."

The noise of moving the rock had woken up a few of the sleeping pride members, and they weren't too happy to not only have a rude wake up in the night, but to find humans inside the den as well. "Mufasa! What are they doing in here? Why did you let them in?"

"It's alright. I'm making sure that they won't do anything, and Sarabi and Sarafina are also making sure. You can go back to sleep if you want, but please stay out of the way."

MacBain ignored the voices behind him as he reached inside and took out a large metal box. Looking at it, Banks swore was nothing fancier than an old ammo box. But instead of bullets, when MacBain opened the top, Banks saw that it was filled with papers and a few other objects. MacBain took out the papers and began to shuffle through them, holding the flashlight in his mouth to free up his hands. What appeared to be papers were actually old photographs, which as Banks looked at them, he swore that they should have looked more worn out than they did now. But there was no mistaking the age of the old contents.

Grabbing what he wanted, MacBain put the rest back in the box and set it aside. "To be honest, I didn't expect this to be here. A lot can happen in the time that passed, but I figured that it's worth a shot to see if this was where we had left it, because I believe that this here can convince all of us what so far, we didn't want to admit..." He looked at the part of the pride that was awake. "Gather around, I have something to show you all."

He waited for the lions to circle around as he shone a light down on of the photographs.

Mufasa looked down at what MacBain was holding, curious to see what he can only describe as one of Rafiki's representations of lions and humans, but this one was so real... A group of humans stood, smiling, while surrounded by a pride of lions, also smiling. He found it odd how all of them were looking straight at... him."What's this?"

MacBain grinned slightly, at the same time wincing inwardly as he realized just how much time had passed. "This was taken the last time I was here... When I was no older than Seaver or Evans are now... That lion over there, that's Kivuli, Mohaut's father..."

The pride let out a collective gasp. "But Mohatu, that was... my grandfather!" Mufasa protested. "Surely you must be joking!"

MacBain flipped the picture over to where the names of everyone in it were written down. "Nah, it's correct." He flipped the photograph again. "See, and there's Mohatu over there."

Mufasa stared in wonder at what he can only describe as a physical piece of the past, where he was looking at his long dead grandfather, no older than Simba was now, and his great-grandfather, whom he never even knew. "But what does this mean?" he finally whispered, reaching out for the picture with a shaky paw. "And just how _old_ are you?"

MacBain let Mufasa take the photograph, ignoring the fact that he was called old. "Old enough. See this human here? That's me. Lot's of time has passed." He sighed. "But the reason why I wanted to show you this is simple: I did not come here the first time just on holiday. The Pride Lands were in a war, and a completely messy one. Not humans on humans or lions versus hyenas, but just about everybody versus everybody else. We-"

Now Sarabi interrupted him "The Great War! Lots of lions died there..." Everyone in the Pride Lands knew about the Great War. It was what caused the hyenas to be banished, as well as establishing many of the stringent laws regarding rogues and new arrivals to the Pride Lands.

MacBain grunted. "Might have been a great war for you, but for us humans, no more than a somewhat violent dispute. You really do not want to find yourself in the middle of an actual human war, which brings me back to this. In order to survive, we had to cooperate with those we considered to be enemies. Specifically, us humans and you lions. I know what I am about to say can, and most likely will upset you, but the "loads of dead lions"? We humans caused that. One of you killed one of us, and we responded by killing ten of you. And we would have easily killed all of you off, except that we decided to cooperate instead of fight." Next to him, Banks fidgeted nervously as the lions started to growl in anger.

"Which we must not allow to happen now!" MacBain shouted in earnest. "Yes, Simba is gone, but so is Seaver! And I am completely certain that they are in the same place! They will take care of each other, which is what we must do here. We need to work together, or this will happen-" He replaced the photograph of the smiling humans and lions with another one. This one showed dead human, surrounded by a small number of dead lions. "We can always kill each other off. Will save whoever took Simba and Seaver the effort of doing it themselves."

Mufasa felt tears start to form over his eyes as he looked at a devastating loss of lionesses, all in the same small area. "No... We must not let ourselves to do that." He looked around at his pride. "I know some of you might harbor negative feelings or even fear, but we need, as MacBain said, to work together. I am not going to see this pride killed because of a petty squabble. If you cannot agree to this... leave the Pride Lands at once."

No one left.

MacBain nodded slightly. "That's all I ask." He turned to Banks. "You can go now. Get some rest."

The pilot nodded and quickly walked away, almost running. MacBain found it amusing how the pilot, nearly unmatched in the air in skill and bravery, could turn into one of the worst soldiers on the ground, on his own two feet. But on the other hand, he selected Banks to fly, not to run around.

"Mufasa, I want you to come with me. The sooner we get started, the better."

Mufasa hesitated, suddenly feeling nervous about being alone with humans. "Can I take Sarabi with me?"

MacBain hesitated. He was already risking his job by planning to show an unqualified 'person' classified data, but two? "Yeah, sure." Sarabi had just as much right to know what was going on as anyone else. Together, the three of them left the den. "I already have a few ideas as to how we can find where Simba is."

They walked down towards the Savanna, and to Mufasa, it felt like, to a new era.

* * *

AN: Well this took slightly more time to write then I thought. But I got it in within three months, for which I am glad.

I didn't get any reviews for my past few chapters. I know that my posting schedule is bad to say the least, and I will finish this story no matter what, but I would still like to know how people like it so far.


	12. Making Luck

AN: Looks like again it was roughly three months since my last update. While it wasn't as quick as I would have liked, I think that for the most part, I am able to slowly start getting a better writing pattern that will provide, if not frequent, then at least consistent updates.

For the chapter itself, I originally planned to have it extend for longer into the future in terms of events, but when I tried that... it didn't go to well in terms of pacing. So speaking of pacing, not much in terms of plot here, but there is some. This is mostly a character driven chapter, and I hope that you all like it. As always, enjoy reading the story, and if you liked the chapter, leave a review and let me know what you thought of it!

And with that aside, the story continues:

* * *

Chapter 12: Making Luck

"**Why do you make it so hard on yourself? You know what we ask of you, and it's not that much. We offer your freedom, and yet you don't take it. Why?"**

"**..."**

"**It might help you to start talking. These sessions get awfully, oh how do you describe it?.. Boring. Even I can get tired of my own voice after a while. Care to remove the discomfort?"**

"**..."**

"**Alright, so be it. I'm going to be blunt now. As long as you don't talk, you don't get out, and the longer you remain silent, the less patience we will have with the cub. You- you know what will happen if we show him to the world. You know what the so called 'innocent scientists' will do not only to him, but to his family. Are you willing to allow that? To kill them? I have made it perfectly clear that I aim to create a world where this cub, and many like him, will be able to live without fear of us humans, and to go where they please. You care for the cub, and yet you refuse him that world. How can you?"**

"**...**

**...You touch one hair of Simba, and I'll kill you myself."**

"**Oh, so you can talk after all. That's great, don't you think? I myself think this conversation has reached a great milestone today, and hope to continue to advance as we did today."**

"**..."**

"**What? That's it?"**

"**..."**

"**Very well. We're done here."**

Simba was fiddling with something he found next to the door, enjoying the odd, high-pitched noise it made whenever part of it would hit the hard floor. The noise reminded him a lot of the sound that left-over rain drops would make as they hit the surface of the waterhole back in the Pride Lands. He grunted quietly as a wave of homesickness hit him, but at the same time, the noise he kept making were a great comfort, so he continued to play with the object. The only thing around him with any hint of familiarity to anything at home.

It was times like this that he was most afraid and worried. When Seaver would be taken away from their cell, and Simba would be left alone, often in darkness, all by himself. The first time he was left alone, scared and desperate, he tried to claw through the door where Seaver was taken out of. He made the smallest of scratches before he was forced to give up, his paws numb and bleeding furiously. When Seaver came back and found out, he scolded Simba for hurting himself that way. Despite what the human had said, Simba didn't try only because it hurt too much, and there was no way for him to get through.

It was only when Seaver was with him that Simba felt like he won't go mad.

But now he was alone again, playing around with this small object, enjoying the sound of something not unlike rain drops. His eyes closed, he simply picked it up, and would let it drop again. With every sharp ping as it hit the ground, Simba would try and recall some other memory from the Pride Lands. He scared himself when he found it hard to recall any particular memory, so he instead settled to enjoying brief moments instead. He remembered chasing Nala around, trying to pin her. Boring lessons with Zazu, which now seemed a lot better than before... Walking around the kingdom with Mufasa, or Sarabi, sometimes both of them... Sneaking up on one of the humans, who never seemed to notice what was right next to them. Banks was particularly easy to pounce on... Running away from hyenas...

Simba's grin faded. The last time he was at home, he was afraid and running for his life. To make it even worse, he didn't even know if Mufasa was alright or not. His heart started to ache with homesickness and dread as he remembered how Mufasa urged him to run home. That was the last time he saw his father... He dropped the small object for one last time. Curling up where he lay, Simba placed a paw over his eyes, feeling his eyes start to water. He wanted to go home, to run over to Sarabi and to never leave her again, and to curl up with her gentle warmth. To know that his father was okay.

But instead of his mother's soft fur, he was lying on hard rock, alone with nothing to comfort him but the cold air. Shivering both from both the temperature and loneliness, the cub tried without success to try and get some sleep, and pass the time away until Seaver would be brought back.

He didn't know for how long exactly he lay there, but he knew that it was long, boring, and rather painful to be so alone. Usefully, he tried and tried again to allow himself to fall asleep, but his anxiety just didn't allow him to relax. Every now and then, he would stare at the door, begging silently for it to open. But no matter how long he restlessly waited for it, it wouldn't move.

Getting up, he walked over to the door and examined it. The first time he was left alone, he learned very quickly that whatever it was made out of, it nearly destroyed his claws very painfully when he tried to open it himself. Now, hearing a noise from whatever lay on the other side, Simba froze. Growling in frustration, he crouched down low towards the crack between the cold ground and the solid door, where a narrow beam of light shone through.

"I know you're there! And I know you can hear me! Let me out!" There was no way that no one could hear him from the other side, he knew they were very close - he could smell them. But they didn't react to his cries at all. "Let me out!" No matter how many times he shouted, no one was coming for him.

With his throat getting soar from the screaming, Simba retreated from the door, defeated. "Let me out... Let me go home..." He curled up again, whimpering quietly to himself. Even though now he couldn't care less at what he was doing, the effort he put into trying to be heard left him mentally and physically drained, and he didn't stop himself from closing his eyes in fatigue. Trying to get comfortable, one of his paws brushed over the small object he found. At first, he thought of tossing it aside, but as he prepared to do so, he changed his mind and placed it next to his body.

Ever so slowly, he drifted off into a restless slumber...

The door opened with a loud creaking noise, causing Simba to jump up in shock. Seaver was back. It was noticeably darker than before, and only a short matter of time before the place would be enveloped by the darkness of night. Simba picked up the object with a paw and ran over to Seaver, eager talk to anyone.

The human, on the other hand, wasn't so eager. As soon as he was shoved inside the cell and the door closed, he slumped against the nearest wall. During all of his previous interrogations, he refused to even say one word, using the silence as an opportunity to study his captors, and plan out various ways to get out. But today, when his interrogator finally dared to threaten Simba, Seaver lost his patience. True, he was the one who issued the last threat, but it was a victory for getting Seaver to talk, and now he felt horrible because of it. Finally registering the cub next to him, Seaver reached out and patted Simba lightly on the head. "Hey kiddo, how ya doing?"

The reply came back very fast. "Fine..."

Seaver sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Simba, if I -"

"I _know_! It's not about you or even them anymore. But..." Simba moved closer to the human. "I still want to go home. While you were gone... and I was alone in here, I... I found something on the ground. And it makes the strangest of sounds..." he demonstrated it by dropping the object on the ground again. This time, he felt a bit of happiness creep up again as he got some delight in showing Seaver what he found. "Sounds a lot like rain, you know... back home..." his voice dropped, and he stared at the ground, unblinking. "I really want to go home," he whispered, "the sound reminds me too much of it... it hurts to listen to it, and yet, I can't stop myself. Whenever I hear it, I can remember-"

He stopped as Seaver sat up straighter next to him. The human looked at the cub, and then at where Simba dropped the small object. "May I have a look at what you found?" he asked quietly, and allowed Simba to roll it over. Picking it up, he examined it, wondering.

Standing up, Seaver walked over to the door. Perhaps this object, this small bit of metal, could be useful. "So what did it remind you of?" he asked. If Simba can keep talking, not only will it improve the cub's mood, but the noise would also help mask what Seaver was planning to do next. Carefully, he inserted the metal bit into the door's lock...

Simba didn't notice what Seaver was doing, concentrating instead on the Pride Lands. "Well, there was one time Nala and I wanted to get back at Zazu for stopping us from having fun, so we-" He paused, unsure if he wanted to tell Seaver about it or not. It wasn't something he was particularly happy to let anyone else know, mostly because of how his parents had reacted after Zazu had told them about his and Nala's little stunt they pulled off.

Noticing that the cub fell silent, Seaver stopped briefly in his work. "Go on, so what happened?"

Simba grinned slightly, rubbing the top of his head with a paw nervously. It would at least be fun enough to tell Seaver what had happened. "So Nala and I wanted to escape from Zazu, but he's a bird you know, and very hard to get rid of..." As he told the story, and reservations he had about hiding the more embarrassing parts from Seaver left him as h found that he enjoyed telling them much more. "-and then dad found us." Simba finally finished. By then, Seaver was sitting next to him on the floor again. "I never remember him being so mad. Although don't tell this to mom, and definitely not Zazu, but dad took me aside to talk. And after the usual lecture about not running away from Zazu and all that, he..." Simba grinned fondly at the memory, "dad actually congratulated me on how well we pulled it off. Said that he never thought that Nala and I would think of something so complicated... Then of course made me promise not to tell anyone else."

The cub moved closer to Seaver, leaning on his chest in order to get closer to the human's head. "You won't tell anyone, promise?"

Seaver let out an audible sigh. "I don't know, Simba. You'll have to remind me again when we'll get home."

Simba shrank back, his mood fouling almost instantly. "And when will that happen? I... I already forgot how long we've been here. I'm tired of sitting around doing nothing, Seav! And you said we'll be home soon, but-"

"And we will." Seaver held up the small metal bit Simba had found.

Simba froze, mouth open ready to complain more. It wasn't Seaver's answer that stopped him, but rather his tone. Seaver _meant it_. "How?"

Seaver leaned down closer to Simba's level so that he'll be able to whisper. "That thing you found... I can use it to open the door. When they'll take me out next time, I'll use it as a chance to plan how to escape the building. Then, when they'll least expect it, we go. Run down the mountain and find a way back home."

Simba let Seaver's words sink in. "...Escape?.. But where do we go after that?"

Seaver shrugged grimly. "It's going to be very dangerous. But I'll rather take my chances out there than in here." Whatever playful tone he had before, it was all gone now. Seaver was placing all his cards down, and he wanted the cub to know just how dire the plan was going to be. "It's up to you, Simba. Do you want to risk running God knows where, trying to get back home, or stay here, and wait for someone to come and rescue us from here?"

Simba didn't say anything. He hated being in here, true, but to run away? He was just a cub! And he never went anywhere much farther than the Pride Lands before he had to run back in order to stop Mufasa and Sarabi from finding out and getting mad at him. In fact, he only actually left the boundary of the Pride Lands a few times.

But he never had Seaver with him before.

"If we wait here, when do you think we'll be freed?"

That's a question Seaver, until now, always refused to answer. "That's the problem, Simba: Banks, Mardy, the others... I have no doubt that they are doing all they can to find out where we are and planning to get us out of here. But as much as they want us back in the Pride Lands, the people here want to keep us here just as much... You know how before when you asked me, why do you think I always got you angry with me when I would reply something like 'soon' or something similar?"

Simba didn't like the pieces he was combining together. They were not forming the picture he wanted to hear. "Because you don't know..?"

Seaver let out a slow sigh. "Worse. What I fear is that, should we stay here, that we'll be stuck here for a very long time..." He reached out and grabbed Simba carefully. "Years, possibly. Those people who took us here, they didn't pick you on random. They chose you on purpose. What it is, I don't know. The first thing I tried doing was getting them to send you back. Leave me here, but let you go home. They won't have none of it... They might want me here because they think I know some things. But they want you as well, and they will do everything they can to keep you here..." He held on to the cub tightly as he felt Simba tense, obviously shocked at his words. "I'm sorry, Simba. I hope you can understand why I kept this from you until now."

Simba padded over to the human and leaned against him. "I don't want to be stuck here for that long..." He felt tears form over his eyes again, but he quickly wiped them down. "You said we can escape? Let's do that."

Seaver allowed a small grin to form. "It's going to be dangerous-"

"I laugh at the face of danger!" Simba grinned back. "I'm a lion.." He puffed out his chest, trying to make himself look bigger. "I can handle myself." As much has he tried to keep a straight face, he couldn't manage it, and after a few moments, he burst out laughing.

Seaver too joined in with the laughing, but soon stopped, turning sober again. "I really mean that it will be dangerous. There's a high chance that, well, neither of us survive. The only reason why I am even considering this is because I still think we have a better chance out there than here. We wait here, and it's only going to be up to luck for when we get out. We run, and I think that we'll at least be able to make our own luck. But Simba, it's going to be more than just dangerous, but it will be very hard as well. That, I can tell you for certain."

Simba placed his forelegs on Seaver's lap. "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it," he too was no longer joking. "I may be just a cub, but I can still do things. And my dad's a king after all, and I'm going to be one too." His eyes refocused as he imagined something. He frowned in concentration before looking back at Seaver. "I want to be able to come back home with you, run up to mom and dad, and tell them: 'Hey, we did it! Seaver and I got back on our own!'"

"Yeah, that sure would be nice to be able to do..." The idea of being able to reach the Pride Lands without help was certainly tempting, but Seaver knew that at best, they would only be able to escape long enough to find a way to contact the others and arrange a pick up location. But he had no doubts that Simba would settle for that without any complaints.

But there was still the issue of getting out. "Hey, Simba, listen: for the next few days, we need to lay low." Seaver leaned closely, so that he can whisper to the cub. "We'll need to make sure that no one here suspects that we're about to break out of here. I'll need to plan a way out of the building, and preferably grab some supplies for the immediate escape away from it as well. I'm very worried about the weather here: you already know how cold it gets in here, well outside the walls, it's much worse. If we're not careful we can easily die just from the cold, so we'll need to prepare for that..."

Very quietly, to minimize the chances of someone hearing them from the door, Seaver explained to Simba everything he thought they might have to take into account during their escape. Sometimes the cub would also provide his own ideas, and Seaver found himself often adding or adapting his own ideas to include Simba's input. Simba might just be a cub, but compared to the human, he knew a lot more about surviving in the wild. It took them quite some time, but eventually, they even formed enough of a plan that Seaver called it a night for them.

"We don't want to give anyone the impression that something is different," he explained, "so it won't do us any good to stay up so long that we'll be half-asleep tomorrow. That might rouse suspicion." He was about to bid Simba a good night before he remembered one last thing he wanted to mention. "Listen Simba, when we leave, it might come in handy to have a simple code to communicate when talking might not be a very good idea. So I was thinking..." He tapped the ground with a finger as he though of what might be a good idea. Then it hit him. "We can use tapping as a code. One tap for bad, two for good."

Simba tapped the ground with a claw, testing what it would sound like. "One for bad, two for good? Easy enough."

"Yeah. And I do hope that we won't have to use it." Seaver lay down on the ground, trying to get into a position that won't kill his back overnight. "Alright, you try to get some rest now. In the next few days, prepare for the run home. Good night, Simba."

Seaver placed his arms under his head, using them as a pillow. He was about to let himself go to sleep like this when something furry and warm lay down next to him. Opening his eyes, Seaver saw that Simba was lying next to him, clearly upset about something. It wasn't hard to guess what. Reaching out, Seaver grabbed the cub and hugged him gently. He smiled slightly when he felt Simba purr gently.

Together, the two of them went to sleep, dreaming of what lay in the future.


	13. Information He's Got It

AN: About half a year since the last update. I do feel quite bad about it. I have many excuses as to why, as well as many legitimate reasons, but it's still at least five months of waiting. Good news: This chapter is very long.

Chapter 13: Information. He's Got It.

"**So they gave us the slip? I thought that would happen. Still somewhat surprised it did happen, and I have to say I was impressed at just how little time it took, but not to be unexpected, all the same."**

"**You don't sound very concerned to learn that they escaped."**

"**And why would I? They know that I know what their handicap is: He just ran off with a _lion_ cub! I don't know how much he is going to keep to following international law, but what can he do? Cross a border? They might look for guns and drugs when you cross international borders, but even with the lax and undermanned crossings in these parts, you are not going to get a lion across very easily."**

"**So if I am understanding you correctly, you are not very worried about it because they can't run far... that they are trapped in foreign territory. Our territory."**

"**Now you're beginning to see it. Imagine the worse: they cross a border and leave for good? Where are they to go?"**

"**...To the Pride Lands. He will want to get the cub back."**

"**Which means that even if we will lose where they are at any given moment, we still know where they are. As much as I would prefer to have kept them as a bargaining chip, I have no fear of having to worry about them anymore."**

"**But what about the others?"**

"**I want you to go down there and finish up with them. Kill the lions if you want to, but to tell you the truth, my patience with Pride Rock is running low. Go down there, and take care of whatever needs to be done."**

"**Yes sir."**

Sarafina watched Nala chase a butterfly around a small clearing amidst the kopjes that the pride liked to spend their free time at. Soon, she will gain the confidence again to let Nala spend time out of her sight places other than here or Pride Rock, but "soon" was a very vague term. After Simba's disappearance, she hadn't let her daughter leave her side for days, and Sarafina was only now beginning to gain enough calm to let other lionesses watch over her daughter.

"Saffy? Sarafina, come one!"

The lioness huffed in annoyance at the sound of Sarabi's voice. She could almost tell what the queen was here for, but it didn't mean that she was ready for the job. She wasn't ready to let Nala out of her sight.

"Sarafina, come on. We need to go hunting. We're behind as is, and some of the pride members are already starting to complain of hunger."

"Let them hunt then."

"You know that's not the point. You're one of the best hunters we have, and right now we need the best team the pride can get."

Sarafina let out another annoyed sigh before turning to look at her friend. "But Sarabi, Nala-"

Sarabi grinned. "Nala will be fine. The entire pride is keeping an eye on her, not to mention that it's the middle of the day and-"

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Sarafina hated the idea of leaving Nala alone now, but she also knew that the pride needed food, and now of all times is the best for her to go with Sarabi on a hunt. She got up to follow her friend before hesitating for a moment. "Nala... Nala?" Sarafina's daughter ran up to her and the lioness smiled lightly at the cub. "I'm going hunting with Sarabi... I think you'll enjoy the meat. Anyways, I want you to stay here until I get back." Sarafina noticed the bored look Nala gave her, "It's where everyone else are, and I want them to keep an eye on you. I won't be gone for too long ,and once I'm back I'll allow you to go elsewhere. Alright?"

"Fine, mom. Fine."

Sarafina let out a sigh that she hoped Nala wouldn't notice before giving her daughter a quick nuzzle and nudging her back to the small clearing. She turned and followed Sarabi down the path to the open savanna. "I know Nala understand why I'm being so paranoid about all this, but I also agree with her in how... how mind bogglingly boring it's getting." She let out a sigh. "I'm also running out of ways to explain to her that we don't know where Simba is, or even if we'll ever get him back."

If Sarabi felt anything after Sarafina mentioned her son, she didn't react in any way. After a brief moment, she broke the silence. "Just tell Nala that we'll get my son back." Not even bother to look back at her friend, she continued to walk towards the hunting grounds with a single-minded dedication. "We have to get him back."

A small group of zebra grazed on the grass quietly, unaware that they were being slowly stalked upon by a lion hunting party. To the future meal, there was nothing out of the ordinary, as the lions hidden around them made sure to prevent the emergence of any sign that something was out of the ordinary: the grass moved naturally with the soft breeze, the birds as chatty as ever. The scents shifting in the air gave away no signatures of predators on the prowl.

To Sarafina, the current set up couldn't have been more perfect. Being the best runner in the pride, it was her job to herd prey into an ambush laid down by the others on the hunt, where they will spring up from hiding places in order to bring down the pride's next meal.

Still too far away to begin the hunt, she slowly and carefully edged forwards, preparing herself for the chase, but not allowing herself to be carried away by the thought of a good meal that will soon eliminate hers and her pride's hunger. Watching over Nala, she never had much time to stop and think that she too needed to eat, and now she was finally beginning to feel that she hadn't eaten much ever since Simba's abduction. Now she was going to change that...

..Just a little bit more. Not too fast, otherwise the zebra will catch on... Still too far to strike. Over there: yes, the others are in potion... Just a little bit further... Hold it! Something's off.

Sarafina froze in her spot as the zebra rose their heads and looked around, some making a few nervous calls. But it wasn't her that they were looking at. It was bad that they were on high alert now, but maybe she might still be able to crawl the last bit forward and strike. Yes... look in the other direction... Not over here...

She was about to crawl forwards when Sarafina heard it too. That low rumble that she was still not used to, but always meant the same thing. No! Not now of all times!

The rumbling grew louder, which meant only one thing: the humans were coming this way. She was still to far away, but with the loud vehicle fast approaching, Sarafina had no choice. She sprang up from where she was hiding in the grass and gave chase. The moment her body broke the outline of the savanna, the small zebra heard bolted. Running as fast as she could, Sarafina chased after them, knowing fully well that she only had a little control over which direction they ran in. But so far, they were running towards the others, and the hunting party might still have a chance...

Only for a loud noise to shred the air, even louder than the commotion of the hunt. It was short but very loud, much like an angry elephant. Spooked even further, the herd split into all directions, one of them even turning around in fright and nearly trampling the lioness that was chasing it. Worse still, non of the zebra were running towards the ambush anymore, and Sarafina no longer had any control over them.

Some of the other lionesses got up and tried to give chase in the last vain hope of a catch, but it was too late, and the energy spent in futile. The hunt was a complete failure.

Sarafina stood where she gave up on her chase, trying desperately to catch her breath as well as control her temper as the humans rolled up next to her in their white car and stopped. If it wasn't for them, the hunt would have gone well and the pride would have had a meal. Now they had nothing. "You ruined our hunt!" She shouted the moment the driver's door opened, greatly startling Evans.

The human froze at the shear hostility in her voice. "Wha- oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Li-"

"SORRY?" Sarafina was about to lunge at him, only being stopped just in time as Sarabi ran over to her and got in her way before she could attack. "You- you prevented us from getting our next meal, and all you can say is 'sorry'?"

Instead of answering her, Evans simply said, "Banks just found something coming towards here. We don't know what it is yet, but it's not ours... might be important."

"How important?"

"Erm..."

* * *

And this was how Sarafina now found herself inside the Humvee, rushing out of the Pride Lands. Due to their fast pace, the entire thing bounced all over the place as the suspension bounced about all over the loose rocks and gravel. Now Sarafina finally understood why when Simba and Nala came back, they looked like they are about to lose their breakfast at any moment. Sarafina herself was about to lose hers. Evans and Mardindale on the other hand didn't seem to be effected by the wild bouncing at all. Well, the Humvee is what they arrived in, but despite that, she still couldn't stop herself from feeling some envy at their lack of any discomfort as they rather nonchalantly discussed where they were heading. Try as she might, Sarafina couldn't concentrate enough to follow their talk. For the lack of a better term, she was along for the ride.

Non to soon, they finally stopped. Without even waiting for the humans, the lioness somehow removed the safety straps from around her and paw the door nearest her open before bolting outside to the shelter of the nearest bush. She had no doubt that the Humans knew fully well that she was feeling terrible after this ordeal, but it didn't stop her from wanting to remain out of sight until she stopped looking so... weak. It wasn't a feeling she was used to.

After some time, she finally got the courage and physical stability to return to the vehicle. Mardindale was standing on top of the hatch, peering through a pair of binoculars while Evans waited at the driver's seat.

"Sarafina, you feeling alright? The ride wasn't too uncomfortable?"

The lioness didn't need to look up to know that non of the humans were actually paying much attention to her. From the urgency of their arrival to... she looked around, but could only see the curvature of the smooth rolling hills of the savanna. Great, so now she didn't even know where they were, except that it was outside the Pride Lands. Did they really travel that fast?

"Where are we?" She asked, curious why this place was so special that they stopped here, when almost everything else in the savanna looked almost the same.

"Don't know. But we can see a dust cloud in the distance, so we are in between whatever is coming towards us and the Pride Lands. We are trying to identify what is causing all that dust to fly though."

Mardindale continued to stare through the binoculars, even leaning forwards as if it would help him see better. On the ground, Sarafina couldn't see anything above the rather close horizon of the ridge of the small hill they were on, but she knew that the human could see much farther than her, so when he suddenly removed the binoculars with a look of disbelief on his face, her attention immediately perked up.

The human turned towards Sarafina. "You might want to get back in right now," he urged her. Getting at the seriousness of his tone, as much as Sarafina resented getting back inside, she did so without hesitation. Mardindale wasn't done as he ducked back inside the Humvee. "Evans, hand me a radio and look for yourself and tell me what you are not seeing what I just saw."

Evans shrugged as he rose to get a look for himself. "Why, what did you just see?"

He searched the horizon with the binoculars himself before freezing monetarily. "Oh shi-!" Rushing back to the drivers seat so quickly that he almost hit his head on the roof, Evans started up the engine as soon as he got the keys in the ignition in record time. "Sarafina, are you strapped in? We need to move!"

The lioness nodded at the question. "Yeah, I guess I'm ready. What did you find?"

"We've got a tank!"

"A what? What does that mean?"

Evans was already moving the Humvee to turn it around. Just then a loud booming noise tore through the air, almost light a shock wave from a burst of thunder. Moments later, a second blast was heard. "It means we're running," the human replied grimly. "I hope we'll survive getting back." Next to him, Mardindale was already bust calling for help over the radio.

Sarafina's heart sank when she realized that whatever they just found, it was bad news. The noise that they had just heard didn't exactly frighten her: lighting was common enough that only cubs were every really scared of such noises. But on a day like this? And why were the humans so scared that they were now so busy fleeing?

Now bouncing about harder than ever, the lioness knew that something had just gone terribly wrong.

* * *

Inside the den in Pride Rock, Mufasa was observing as MacBain listened in as to what was going on outside. So far nothing interesting at all was happening, and it even got to the point to where the general simply told his men to report anything interesting versus their every move as was the original plan. The lion king had no idea how these "radio" devices worked, although the human tried his hardest to explain:

"...Okay, how about like this: It's not much different than when you use Zazu to inform you what is going on in the Pride Lands. Except that a radio can only repeat things directly, and the information travels so fast that for these short distances, it's almost like Zazu is both there and repeating the information to you at the same time..."

Mufasa was left even more confused after this, but he got a grasp enough to trust to have the equipment in his home, as long as he can watch over it while it was being used. "So where is Sarafina and your guys at the moment?"

Banks looked over at the readings as well as the small map on the computer's display. "Somewhat outside the Pride Lands. I'd say about a few hours' walking time, much less driving, which is how they got there."

Over the radio, he heard them talking about seeing something, so he raised the volume somewhat to listen in better. Mufasa took this as a cue to remain silent for now, but he still largely had no idea what was going on, nor whether or not he should be worried or not.

Very quickly, that all changed. The radio crackled to life as Mardindale's voice came through, and to Mufasa's shock, it sounded as though the human was afraid. Of what?

"MacBain! MacBain, come in! Sir, Come in!"

In less than a second, MacBain had the radio and took control. "Madry, calm down! What is out there? What did you find? But first I need you to calm down. Just tell me what happened and where are you now."

"... It's a tank sir. It already shot at us! The tank missed, and we're run-"

Mufasa had moved as close as he can to hear as much as he can, only for Mardindale's voice to suddenly drop. However, as the lion tried to concentrate, it sounded like Mardindale was still talking, but not to the radio. _Turn! Turn! _Only a short moment later the conversation returned to normal.

"Sir, if we don't find some cover, I don't now how long..." There was a pause. "We need to find something that can we can in between us and the tank's gun."

MacBain nodded a little. He turned to the lion. "Mufasa, get to either Zazu or Banks, whoever is closer, and get Banks ready and going. After that, I need you to come right back here."

The king hesitated. "What's going on over there? How's Sarafina?"

"Don't worry, she's safe. Now go!" MacBain only briefly watched the lion run out before resuming his command over his men that needed guidance the most.

* * *

Banks had already heard of the commotion over the radio and was busy prepping the helicopter for takeoff should it be needed. Just as got the rotors moving, a blue streak flew past the glass and into the vehicle. Zazu landed on the dash in front of the pilot and started screaming something at him, but the noise from the outside was already too loud for the bird to be heard.

A quick glance was all it took for Banks to know that the rotor wash outside the helicopter was too dangerous for Zazu to fly out, and he wasn't ready to turn the engine off just to let the majordomo out. He grabbed Zazu, who replied by flapping his wings madly and trying to escape, and placed the bird on the copilot's seat, making sure that Zazu was at least somewhat secured by the seatbelt. Flipping a few switches on the radio, Banks announced that he was ready.

"Mardy, take it easy. I'm coming over."

* * *

Inside the Humvee, the mood was somewhat calmer now that they were on the move. Initially, the humans were worried that they would get hit at any moment. But the tank chasing them didn't seem to want to fire on the move, and at least for now, they were safe.

As they rode over the top of a hill and the tank disappeared from view, Mardindale took the opportunity to look over their lioness passenger. "Hey, Sarafina, you alright?"

A groan emitted from the back. "Just tell me when this is all over..." The lioness complained. To think that she couldn't get any sicker than just on the way out, now they were driving even faster, and to make things worse, Evans always swerved sharply side to side whenever a certain tank gun pointed at a certain direction. "And next time, take Sarabi."

Mardindale chuckled. "Don't you worry. Very soon we'll have that tank under control and we'll let you out. Just hang in there for now." He looked out the back. "Turn, Evans."

Sarafina almost lost her meal again as the Humvee lurched to the side. It took all of her concentration in order not to make a huge mess all over the back seats. She didn't even realize that Mardindale was now busy communicating with the others at how to deal with the threat.

"_If possible, I need you guys to take the crew alive."_

"_Alive? Are you crazy? We're the ones being chased here! It's gaining on us as well!"_

"_Mardy! See that collection of rocks about half a mile out? Hide behind that. I will buy you some time until you will get there."_

A new noise overtook them and Sarafina opened her eyes and stared in disbelief as something well, _huge_, flew over them and very quickly began to blow dust all over the place, blocking out the view behind them. It took a few moments for the lioness to realize that she had seen that large thing plenty of times before: the white helicopter that Banks seemed so attached to. She had always assumed that they brought it over on the ground, not believing that something so big can fly, but she knew that even in her current state, her eyes won't lie. "How is that possible?.."

If she meant for one of the humans to answer, she said it too quietly for them to hear. Looking back, she saw the tank break through the dust cloud, noticeably farther away than before. Right as it regained its attention to them, the view changed suddenly and the lioness was thrown about again as the car skidded sideways to a stop behind the rocks.

Before she knew it, the door opened and she practically fell out, grateful to be out on solid ground again. Sarafina lay on the ground panting as the world around her ever so slowly stopped spinning.

Nearby, Mardindale was frantically searching for what firepower they had available. "Evans, bad news. We only got rifles and light explosives. Nothing to take on a tank with?"

The driver cursed loudly. "Not at all?"

"Well, we might be able to blow the tracks..."

Non of the humans noticed as Sarafina crawled out to the side of the rocks to look at their peruser. "It stopped," she commented. Over head, she saw the helicopter hovering above them all, as if suspended in the air.

Mardindale looked up at the lioness. "We don't want you to get involved, Sarafina. Taking on a tank is way over your head. Let us handle it."

It might have been some sort of want of revenge at getting tossed around the back of the Humvee, but suddenly, the last thing that Sarafina wanted to do was wait on the sidelines. "I'm helping," she replied decisively. "Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

"No, Sarafina! You are not-" Mardindale did not get to finish the sentence as he got tackled and found himself on his back, a very angry lioness on his chest and staring at some very sharp teeth.

"_Mardy! What the hell is going on down there! We can't have you fighting among yourselves right now!"_

Sarafina glared at the human. "I was sick to my stomach while we fled from _that thing_ and was in danger just as much as you are! I am tired of being baggage! I am taking on that thing whether you like it or not! I can outrun that thing. I can do something! I _will_ do something!"

The human tried to push the lioness off, but she didn't budge. Knowing that at any moment an angry tank can come over and blow them all up, Mardy relented. "Okay. But you listen to exactly what I say. Got it?"

He realized that he was holding onto something. A block of C4. "Sarafina, I think I even have something you can do. Evans! We need you!"

He quickly explained his idea. It involved using the Humvee as bait, and as soon as the tank will start to chase it, Sarafina will run over and disable the racks, allowing Mardy to climb the top and capture the crew.

No one else had any other ideas.

"Evans, you have the worse job here... Stay safe."

"I will. You two take care of yourselves." Without a chance to hesitate, he climbed back in the car and floored it.

The moment the Humvee appeared in front of the tank, it too resumed the chase.

"Now Sarafina!"

"_What are you guys doing down there?"_

It was quite a sight: With the explosives in her jaws, Sarafina sprinted after the tank, taking it over in no time at all and shoving the block where it got caught in the track rollers as per Mardindale's instructions. Knowing that she only had a few moments to get to safety, she sprang back and dove to the ground as the tank rolled by her.

Something was wrong. Mardy said that that block should have exploded, but why didn't it? Just as Sarafina was about to raise her head to look, that she heard the explosion, followed soon after by a wave of heat. When the air cooled, she looked up to see the tank still moving, only to snag on its broken track and lurch violently, spinning about and almost rolling over, smashing the barrel to the ground.

Mardindale was already running towards the tank, and took no time to charge on top of the turret and prying open the hatch. Rifle ready, he peered down at a very surprised looking crew. "Hands up in the air where I can see them!"

Already, the sound of the Humvee coming over to help took over the tank as the crew tried to struggle to realize what happened.

* * *

Inside the den, MacBain too, was stunned. He could only listen to what Banks was relaying back.

"_I don't believe it! Sarafina took out the tank! The lioness took on the tank and won! And it looks like we captured the crew as well!"_

Blinking, he slowly found his voice. "Wow... That's quite the job done there, Mufasa."

The kind, who wasn't able to understand what went on outside, even with the aid of the radio, wasn't able to grasp the magnitude of the situation. "Uh, I guess."

MacBain chuckled. "Come on. We have a tank crew to deal with."

* * *

The crew offered no resistance. Perhaps being forced at gunpoint to stay kneeling on the ground wasn't so much of a persuader as being surrounded by some very angry looking lions.

For some reason, one of the crew didn't seem to be very worried. Even after they were separated and the interrogations started. It was expected that they will take a long time, but no one would have predicted what they got.

Well into the night, some progress was eventually attained. The crew knew nothing.

Evans yawned as he walked over to MacBain, who was still dealing with the least worried of the captured crew. As the soldier approached, he heard his commanded asking about the whereabouts of Simba. _Is it not risky to just go asking such questions?_ Somewhat stranger, while the rest of the pride went to sleep after the day's excitements, Sarabi was there. "We got a plane heading over to take the others away. Mardy's watching over them." He stopped. "uh, sir... Why is he unbound?"

The tank crew member, clearly a native to the continent, simply stared back. MacBain explained. "That's because he's not our enemy. He's working with us, Evans." The commander wore a bright grin, as though he had just found what he was looking for a very long time. Which was exactly the case.

"...What?"

"Information, Evans. We need it, and he's got it." MacBain nodded to the crew member. The man now spoke. "It's true. The man you're after, I know him." The man spoke in a heavy accent, but for someone who was just held at tooth and gunpoint, he seemed awfully relaxed about it. "And even more, I know about the capture of your man." He looked at Sarabi. "...And the cub. Gather the rest, because I have a lot of information to tell."

Evans stared at MacBain. "Sir, do you trust him? He was just in a tank, let I remind you..."

"Evans, I've worked with Jackson since the start of this whole operation. I trust him as much as even you. After the plane departs with the other tank crew, we will listen to what he has to say."

* * *

The sun was just starting to come out when the meeting was held. MacBain had insisted that both Sarabi and Mufasa be there as well. Even Sarafina was there, this time with Nala in tow, not because the cub was in trouble, but because Sarafina didn't want to let her daughter out of her sight in the meantime. The shock of taking on a tank had finally caught up to her, and the lioness was quite spooked about it.

Jackson found it somewhat funny that she was the most responsible for ending the tank's brief reign of terror. "but fitting for the power of a lion," he had added.

With a fairly detailed map of the neighboring countries, the man explained how he volunteered to lead the tank in order to "try" and get rid of the humans. This was his opportunity to "switch" sides without arousing suspicion, and get the information over. With him in charge of the tank, he gambled his life and information he had in order not to kill any of them, and hope that they didn't simply blow the tank up with him in it.

There was one question he kept seeming to avoid, but Sarabi eventually had enough and asked it. "You said you know about my son. Where is he?"

Jackson sighed. "I wish I could tell you. I knew where he was right before I left, but as of right now, I don't know." It pained him to see the lioness so devastated at the news. He had gone undercover with MacBain in order to protect his home and all those in it, and he hated to see his actions causing pain instead. "I honestly wish I could tell you, but I simply don't know."

MacBain tried to brighten the mood. "Were they... transferred somewhere? Sent somewhere else?" He stopped when Jackson shook his head.

"They escaped."

Sarabi leaned forwards. "What if you're lying? What if you _do_ know?"

MacBain groaned as Mufasa pulled his wife back. "Sarabi, please. I rust Jackson a lot. He has no reason to lie to us."

"You just have to take my word on this, lioness."

Tears flowed out of Sarabi's eyes as she leaned on Mufasa's shoulder. "But I have to know where my son is," she muttered quietly, "I haven't seen him for so long... I need to know..."

An awkward period of silence followed, only to be very rudely interrupted when a low buzzing vibrated into existence, coming out of Mardinale's pocket.

The human looked very embarrassed to have his cell phone go off, and shocked because he wasn't expecting a call from his family. They knew not to call him unless it was a dire situation. "Sorry..." He was about to walk off and answer the phone when he saw that he didn't recognize the caller. "Hmm, must be a wrong number." He tucked the phone back when it rang again.

Everyone tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing. MacBain had enough. "Just answer it and hang up on them, Mardy."

Mardindale nodded and opened the phone. But as soon as he placed it to his ear, he visibly paled. Barely a whisper, he managed to blurt out, "it's Seaver!"

Turing on the speaker mode, he allowed everyone to listen in. Sure enough, Seaver's voice called out from the phone.

"Hey guys! What took you so long to pick up? You're not starting to hate us, are you guys! And guess who's with me?"

To all the assembled lion's shock, a new voice broke through.

"Mom? Dad? It's me!"

* * *

AN: The fight scene is in no way supposed to be realistic or simulating reality in any way. But you can expect that in a RL-TLK cross over. I had many reasons why I took this long to update, but I think the main one after school is that when I had time to write, I struggled very hard in knowing how to write my ideas and which ones to use, which meant that I really lacked the inspiration to do so. Eventually I decided to just swallow my pride, go with one, abandon the rest, and just write stuff down. This is the end result of this process.

I do hope I will be able to update faster in the future, but I can't make any promises. I can only say that it looks like I will force myself to stick to ideas which I already have thought of, and will ignore others for the sake of writing the story. It might hamper the quality a bit, but you guys won't notice if it mans that all my good ideas will keep the story from getting updated again, which is basically what happened here and before whenever I took a long time to update. Compared to when I started the story, the plot is completely different from the draft I had originally, because so many ideas came, dropped, were modified and/or scrapped. Now I have a linear road map, and I will stick to it.

I will also say that your guy's reviews also helped. While I wasn't able to work on the story during winter break, I got no less than three reviews. They were instrumental in getting me to prioritize ideas and getting text in the document and the chapter finally completed. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for these reviews, as well as a certain PM (you know who you are), the chapter would not have been ready yet. Thank you guys for being patient with me! I know it's almost hypocritical of me to ask for the patience you gave me, but you guys gave me the motivation I needed! Thanks a lot!


End file.
